


Geostigma

by ColorWithMarker



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Has Issues, Hate Crimes, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, Major Illness, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Multiple Deaths, Planet Scar Syndrome | Geostigma, Rebels, Shinra Company
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 06:22:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3885685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorWithMarker/pseuds/ColorWithMarker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's deadly. It's not contagious. It's incurable. Eight people - Cloud, Kairi, Marluxia, Roxas, Sora, Ventus, Xion, and Zexion - have been plagued with the disease, among hundreds of others. Follow their lives as they try to cope with the illness, and find the will to continue living, and follow their friends and family, who try to help the best they can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ventus

_Geostigma is a rare disease, only found in Twilight Town. After an accident caused by the company ShinRa that taints the water supply of a village, those who have considerably weaker immune systems, especially children, easily contract the disease. Those who are infected have what is called “Jenova cells”, which the body tries and fails to fight against, thus making the host more prone to illness. Symptoms include black sores that ooze a congealed black liquid, physical and mental weakness, and fatigue. Those closer to death begin to experience hallucinations and seizures. A simple cold can kill someone at this point. It’s not contagious, but it’s believed to be. Those with Geostigma are avoided. Their life expectancy after contracting the disease is relatively unknown until it’s too late. Family members, particularly parents, who weren’t sick left promptly. Because Twilight Town was the only area that had hospitals that treated Geostigma, those who were sick couldn’t follow them._

_That was five years ago. Nothing has gotten better._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Ventus Strife_ **

**_DOB: 5/24/1997_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: Current High School Student_ **

**_Employment: N/A_ **

**_Family: Father (deceased), mother (no contact), two older brothers, one triplet brother, one triplet sister, one younger brother_ **

**_Partner: N/A_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Positive_ **

**_If Positive, Current Status: Jenova cells, no visible sores, physical weakness, fatigue_ **

* * *

 

Every day has become a routine. At least, that’s what I say. Sometimes Cloud agrees. The sun rises and falls the same, day-to-day routines fall in order, and we’re all numb in response. Cloud is always gloomy. Vanitas is always stressed and angered. Sora is always a ray of sunshine. Roxas is… Roxas. And I’m a quiet observer.

Every morning begins with me rolling onto my left side, staring at Roxas’ empty bed, as unmade as it was the day he walked out – _again_ – and went to live with Kairi’s family, one month ago. I then roll out of bed and, because it’s a Thursday, put on my school uniform – white button-down shirt, blue vest, blue pants, and black shoes. I beat my brothers into the bathroom, because Sora procrastinates and Vanitas and Cloud are usually drinking coffee by now. Naminé leaves earlier than the rest of us to work on art projects, and Tifa doesn’t come back from her bartending job for another hour. Once I’m done, I head downstairs, where my brothers are eating breakfast.

“Aren’t you going to brush your teeth, Sora?” I ask, like always.

Sora shakes his head, like always. “I don’t want to taste mint while I’m eating my cereal,” he says.

“Hurry up,” Vanitas orders. “I wanna be gone in ten minutes.” He says this like Aerith would get him fired for being late. Sora nods and runs upstairs to grab his school things. I grab a cereal bar and follow to get my own things. Seven minutes later, we’re in the backseat of Vanitas’ sedan, being driven to school.

“Anyone giving you trouble lately?” he asks as we near the school.

“Riku got Seifer to stop bullying us,” Sora says cheerfully.

“Hayner keeps on bothering me, but he just wants to know where Roxas is,” I say. “Kairi threatened him into leaving us alone.”

Vanitas’ jaw tightens at the mention of Roxas. “And what the hell has he been up to?”

I shrug. “Ask Naminé when she goes over there next time. Or maybe Tifa knows. I think she still talks to Reno.”

As Vanitas stops in front of the school, I hear him mutter something like, “sell-out bastard red-head.” Sora and I thank him for the ride and get out of the car. We fall in line with the other kids walking into the building. Some of them look at Sora and back away. Even though his sores are bandaged before we go to school, he shows other symptoms that scare off people. I’m not as obvious; I’m the only person in the family without sores. Cloud wears long sleeves. Sora bandages his. Roxas, whenever he goes outside, wears a hoodie he took from Axel a while ago.

I walk Sora to his class, and get assurance from one of this friends that they’ll keep an eye on him, today Selphie. I head to my own class and sit in the back corner with Kairi and Naminé. Roxas’ seat, the one next to Kairi and in front of Naminé, is empty.

“We tried to get him out of the house,” Kairi says when she sees my disappointed look. “It ended in a bad fight between him and Axel, so they’re spending the day ‘rekindling’.”

Naminé sighed. “He’s seven years older than him. I wish he wouldn’t do something like this. Nothing against Axel, just my idiotic brother.”

Every morning is filled with a short-lived with a brief update about Roxas, before our teacher begins the lesson. Each class is the same. The teacher gives us lectures and asks us if we know the answers. If Kairi or I raise our hands, we’re ignored. She don’t want to hear anything we have to say. If Kairi raises her right hand, and she sees the sores on the back of it, she wrinkles her nose and turns her heads. That keeps her from raising her hand for the rest of the day.

During lunch, the three of us stay in the back corner of the classroom. Sometimes, Hayner, Pence, and Olette join us. Today, the teacher has them clean the white board. Naminé leaves us halfway through lunch hour to continue a project in the art room.

Today suddenly becomes different. Kairi looks at me and says quietly, “I wish I were like Roxas.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?” I ask.

“He doesn’t have to go through this torture.”

Now I raise both my eyebrows. “Are you kidding? Roxas is a coward! He can’t face the music, so he hides in his house! Or, more appropriately, behind your brother. He thinks he’s the only person who has to deal with this shit and expects all this pity to be thrown at him. He has no idea what I go through, or Sora, or Xion, or Cloud, or you–!”

“Ventus…” Kairi says. She’s hugging herself, staring at me with wide indigo eyes. I feel bad for scaring her.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her quietly. “I don’t know what came over me. I don’t usually…”

She puts her hand over mine. “It’s okay,” she says. “We all have to let off steam every now and then.”

That ends the conversation. Naminé returns to class, and the day progresses as it usually does.

At the end of the day, Naminé, Sora, and I sit on the curb a block away from the school, waiting for our ride. Today, it’s Xion’s older brother, Zack. He said Aerith and Vanitas were back at the house, and they were going to do our monthly check-ups from there.

“Why can’t we wait in front of the school, Nami?” Sora asks.

“Because we don’t want any trouble with other people,” she explains, using the sweet voice she saves for helping Sora understand without scaring him. “Cloud would get mad if we got into trouble.” She wraps an arm around his shoulders and rubs his arm, before he winces as she puts pressure on his bicep and pulls away.

Zack finally pulls up in front of us. Xion sits in the front seat, and the rest of us pile in the back: Naminé behind Zack, me behind Xion, and Sora in the middle. The ride to Zack’s home is silent, with the exception of the new YuRiPa CD Xion plays. I stare out the window and watch the homes as we pass by. One of them has a sign, shooting off hate toward “the infected ones”. Sora gasps lightly. Naminé and I both hold out a hand to shield his eyes.

When we pull into the driveway, Xion promises Sora they can play her new video game after Aerith is done with their check-ups. Zack says he’ll order dinner for us. The rest of us go upstairs to the in-home office, where Aerith and Vanitas are reading over files. Naminé, Sora, and I sat in the chairs and turned them around while Xion stripped to her underwear and let Aerith check over her. Every now and then, she’d ask Xion a question, or tell Vanitas to jot something down. When Xion was redressed and done, she traded places with Sora, who went through the same process. They raced to Xion’s room once he was done, and I went through the same. No sores yet, my fatigue hadn’t changed, and my physical strength had gotten better since the last time we met.

“Ventus, Naminé,” Aerith says, “We need to talk about Sora.”

The two of us exchange glances. “Is he getting worse?” Naminé aska.

Aerith noda solemnly. “Vanitas will tell your brother about it later. I don’t want to scare you kids but…”

Naminé leaves the room. Whenever we talk about Geostigma, especially Sora’s condition, she sits in a room and stares at the wall, her face slack. It’s her way of coping, we’ve assumed. When Aerith gives me a puzzled look, I shake my head. There’s no bringing Naminé out of one of her spells. We have to wait them out, we’ve learned.

“Vanitas, you can copy the files in Zack’s office and show them to Cloud later,” Aerith says. “Ventus, why don’t you play video games with Sora and Xion?” I nod and leave the room.

I sit on the bed in Xion’s room, while she and Sora play their game. I stare at the back of Sora’s head as he accuses Xion of cheating on the last level. He’s only fifteen years old. The youngest of the six of us. He’s so full of love and life. I can’t imagine that light flickering out. How will Naminé take it? Vanitas? What about when that happens with Cloud and I? Or Roxas? Who’s going to _tell_ Roxas about Sora?

The rest of the day is a blur. By this time, everything becomes jaded and depressing. Zack bought us pizza for dinner – one plain, one pepperoni, and one pineapple because it’s Sora’s favorite. When we finish, Naminé helps Aerith clean up. Tifa comes by shortly afterwards and picks us up. She drops us off and heads to work, saying she’ll take us to school in the morning if she’s home in time. Inside, Cloud tells us to go to bed; tonight is a school night, and Sora and I are worn out by now.

Sora is the only one who actually goes to bed. Naminé and I sit in her doorway with the door cracked open, trying to hear what our brothers are saying. They speak in hushed tones, until Cloud suddenly lets out a sob. I open the door a bit wider to see Vanitas hugging Cloud tightly, trying not to cry himself.

I fall asleep in Naminé’s room that night, hugging her close. She’s become stoic again, staring out her window unresponsively, as I run my fingers through her hair.

Today isn’t like the other days. These are the days that make me wish life wasn’t like this. They’re the days that make me wish Dad didn’t die, and Mom didn’t leave us when she found out her sons were sick. That Roxas doesn’t live at Kairi’s house and still wants to at least talk to us.

I wish every day was a numb-filled, day-to-day routine, so I would never have days like these.


	2. Axel

_ShinRa had had many lawsuits filed against them for their unethical actions towards the environment. They lost one against dumping in the local lake. Instead, they dumped elsewhere – the city's water supply. They were quick to defend themselves, and had many out-of-town lawyers that easily saved ShinRa from shutting down. Some of their employees, including Cloud and Vanitas Strife, quit. Others, such as loyal employees Reno Flynn and Elena Workman, have stuck by their side._

_Ironically, the CEO, Rufus Shinra, has Geostigma as well._

* * *

**_Full Name: Akuseru Blaise Flynn_ **

**_Nickname: Axel_ **

**_DOB: 2/6/1990_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: Some college_ **

**_Employment: Bartender/waiter/busboy_ **

**_Family: Grandmother, one older brother, one younger sister_ **

**_Partner: Roxas Strife_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

The day I learned that ShinRa had poisoned Twilight Town, I was arrested for walking into the main building, taking the elevator to the top floor, and beating the shit out of the big kahuna. I also met Larxene, who had broken one of her sister's nose and the other's wrist. By the time we walked out of there, we were really good friends, nineteen and with newfound records.

When Kairi started showing symptoms, I took her and moved in with our grandmother for two weeks in deep denial. Reno cussed me out on the phone, saying I had no right to kidnap our sister. I shot back that it was his fault she was sick. He ended up caving and asked for us to come home. My grandmother told me that I had to behave myself, for Kairi's sake, and to be strong for everyone who didn't feel strong anymore.

I kept my first promise for another four days, when we learned that Kairi tested positive for Geostigma. That time I was arrested for beating the shit out of Reno. I called Larxene, who sent Luxord to bail me out. Apparently, she and Demyx were facing the same problem I was, and had spent the last day watching Lifetime movies and eating tubs of ice cream. As much as I wanted to joke and say I was above that, I sat through all of  _A Walk to Remember_  and a gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough.

Marluxia was sick. He passed out in his Chemistry 101 class and was driven to the hospital by the professor today. He told Larxene not to come in, but he'd see her when he's released. He didn't want to put her through too much.

Demyx's roommate, Zexion, found out he was sick the day before. He said they spent a good hour freaking out and trying to calm the other, before one thing led to another and – Luxord cut him off there, not wanting to head about anything involving Demyx and sex. He looked hurt, before Larxene and I told him it was for the best that we didn't know what he did between the sheets. (Which quickly lead to us yelling at him that it we didn't want to know that they were on top of the sheets.)

Four years afterwards, at the ripe age of twenty-three, Kairi brought home a few friends from school, saying they had a project to work on. Behind her, three clones entered the apartment, with wide blue eyes and chopped golden hair, with the exception of one being a girl with flowing blonde tresses. After leading them into her room and returned to retrieve snacks, Kairi explained that the two boys had Geostigma, and their teacher paired the four of them together because the teacher was disgusted with all sick kids and Naminé, the girl, didn't want to leave her brothers' side. She then said that the visible difference between Roxas and Ventus, the boys, was that Ventus was in full school uniform. Roxas, on the other hand, donned a half-buttoned shirt and dirtied jeans. I nodded at the newfound information.

They came by every day that week. I learned they all had individual work ethics: Naminé was in charge of layout and design, apparently the artist in the group; Kairi headed the research; Ventus typed and edited their work; and Roxas offered three opinions about where their teacher could shove it before making his way into the living room and sitting on the other side of the couch.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping?" I asked.

He didn't answer, just swiped my beer and chugged it all. He stayed in that spot until his older brother came and took back his siblings. Kairi fixed us some cheap noodles and delivered me a serving in a plastic bowl. She sat next to me, curled up against my arm.

"I think Roxas likes you," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know that?" I asked.

She smirked. "Because he rarely acts nice to people who aren't sick. He has some old friends, but he doesn't talk to him much." She jabbed my side with the dull end of her fork. "But you're not an old friend."

I smirked. "Because I was learning multiplication when he was born. Kai, he's  _your_  age. I'd feel like a pedophile if I were to…" I wrinkled my nose.

Kairi snorted. "Never said anything about reciprocating any feelings. Are you saying that you like him too?"

I shoved her off and devoted my attention to the sitcom we'd been watching. The last thing I needed to think about was falling for someone who could date my baby sister.

And damn it, if Kairi wasn't one to keep on pushing. She offered for the triplets to come over every day, and when Roxas gave up, she promised to give him the answers, before he moved into the living room, sitting on that damn end cushion every time. Once in a while, he'd sit a little closer, until Kairi or one of his siblings came into the room, then he'd jump to the end with a bright pink face.

"Can my friends sleep over, Axel?" Kairi asked a few months into her little scheme.

I rolled my eyes. "I would say no, but something tells me you'll butter me up and trick me into saying yes," I said. "If he calls the police, your college fund from Grandmother is going toward my bail. It costs more to bust out pedophiles than the guys who beat the shit out of Reno's boss."

"And then you can explain to Grandmother why you spent it and get a good ass-whooping like when you were seven."

"Watch your fucking mouth. You're only sixteen."

"Fucking make me." Kairi kissed my cheek and scurried to her room, calling out, "Thanks, Axel!" over her shoulder.

That led to the following Saturday, with me hiding in my room, staring at the ceiling in the dark, with the giggling of two girls in the other room, overpowering the whining of one of the boys. When someone knocked on my door, I figured it wasn't Roxas.

He didn't bother waiting for me to roll out of bed and let him in. He slid through the door and shut it gently. I felt the bed shift with his weight. Then I felt his warm body press against my side as he hugged me. I pulled my arm free to wrap it around him.

In that moment, I understood what he wanted. I'd learned a few things about him and his family over these past months. He hated being handled fragilely. He didn't want to be an outcast because he was sick. Most of his family was sick, and when he was around them, he grew angry. Violent. I heard him yell at his brother over the phone once because he didn't want to visit the doctor. He hated what the world has made him into.

All he wanted was someone to ignore all the bullshit and see him for him. He was looking for that in me.

The next morning, after the triplets left with their brother, I saw Reno slide Kairi a twenty. Assholes.

Fast-forward to today. I'm sitting on the couch with my elbows on my knees and my head between my hands. Roxas is standing before me, arms crossed and weight on one leg, something he picked up from Kairi by the second time he temporarily moved in. We'd just made up from our last fight about Roxas going to school days ago. Now we are back to square one.

"You're dropping out," I say slowly.

"Drop _ped_  out," he corrects. "I'm done with school. It's a waste of time."

"Roxas…"

" _You_  dropped out of college!"

"Difference.  _I_  dropped out of college because of Kairi.  _You_  wanna drop out because you think it's 'a waste of time.' And there's the key fact of me having a job."

"Well, let me walk into every restaurant and shop downtown and hand them my blank résumés – you know, if they let me walk through the door! And do you think Luxord is gonna hire another busboy, much less one who's sick!"

"Of all people, you know that Luxord would be the first to hire you – and he would, if he didn't already have a full staff at his beck and call."

"Don't tell me Larxene still works for him. Isn't she in jail yet?"

"Don't try to antagonize Larxene. She's fighting for a worthy cause. At least she doesn't sit on her ass begging for people to feel sorry for her!"

" _And_  here we go!" Roxas starts pacing around the coffee table. I quickly move my legs before he trips over them. "You're such a dick sometimes!"

"I'm a dick? Why, because I'm honest?" I snap.

"No!"

"Then why, Roxas? Tell me why!"

"It-it's none of your business!"

"Exactly!" I stand up and block him. When he tries to storm off the other way, I grab his arms and hold him steady in front of me. "You wanna know how many fucking times Tifa comes into work tells me that Cloud is still heartbroken over the last time you were home? Or that the other day Kairi told me Ventus almost fucking lost it in school? He says you're a goddamn coward, and you know something? You are sometimes! You're such a fucking coward, because you do act like no one else understands the pain you're going through, but we  _do_ , Roxas! We fucking _understand_!"

"How the hell would you understand, Axel?" Roxas spat. "You're healthy as a fucking horse!"

"I don't need to have it to get hurt by it, Roxas." I took a deep breath, cursing when it's shaky. My head hangs low, so I can't see his face. "Marluxia forgot Larxene's name the other day."

"Axel…"

"We were sitting there, just talking and laughing, and when Larxene leaves and comes back to mix a few drinks, his face just blanks, and he… he couldn't remember her name. Luxord told her to go on break, and she locked herself in the upstairs apartment for over an hour. Even though Marluxia remembered, she couldn't handle it."

"Axel, please, don't–"

"And Zexion was almost in the hospital last month. When you were at school, we were all hanging out, with Demyx and Zexion playing host, when suddenly he's unconscious on the floor and Demyx is screaming and crying."

"Stop!"

"Kairi told me she tried to report her teacher to the principal for mistreating her and Ventus. He wouldn't give her the time of day. Reno tried calling, and his secretary shut him down."

"Axel, why are you telling me this?" Roxas whimpers.

I look up, to see him crying. He gently wipes tears from my own cheeks. "Because now I have a fourth person to worry about. He's this punk-ass little firecracker with a smart mouth, and he thinks that he's a tough little shit most of the time. But I care about him–" Roxas gasps, but I push on "–like I care about Marluxia and Zexion and most of all Kairi. And as much as I want to punch him, I want to kiss him, too. One of these days, he'll see how much I love him, and maybe he'll stop this self-destructive act of his and try to better himself for the people around him, and if not for his brothers and sister and friends, then at least for me."

Roxas begins  _wailing_  when I end my speech. I hug him close and rock him side to side, kissing his hair and whispering that everything will be okay. I feel bad for making him cry, but it's something he needs to hear.

I know how this will all end. Once he's done his crying, he'll apologize to me and ask for forgiveness. I'll give it to him, because he means it. We'll give each other a kiss that will lead us into the shower or the bedroom, depending on if Kairi or Reno comes home. Then we'll lay in bed, pretending that nothing is wrong.

I don't know when the next fight will be. My guess will be when he finds out that I told Tifa last night to come get him by the end of the week. It's almost a game, to see who can drive the other to the edge first. Maybe I'll cry. Maybe he'll pack his bags and slam the door on his way out.

Either way, we'll still be together. At least we'll have that.


	3. Tifa

_Those with Geostigma quickly learned how cruel society was. Children under the age of five most likely found themselves in orphanages. Any parents who came to adopt had a small range of healthy children to choose from, and once they were all gone, the orphanages closed and children were stranded in alleys and abandoned buildings. Some children had been left with older siblings or distant relatives who had bigger hearts than their parents. Few parents kept their children close. Those were the ones who received medication and treatments to slow the process. Homeless children had no chance._

_All of the children who hadn't been fortunate enough to have someone to care for them have all perished as of seven months ago. The population went down nearly thirty percent as a result._

* * *

**_Full Name: Tifa Lockheart_ **

**_DOB: 5/3/1991_ **

**_Sex: Female_ **

**_Level of Education: High School Diploma_ **

**_Employment: Bartender_ **

**_Family: Father (no contact), mother (deceased)_ **

**_Partner: N/A_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

My dad all but blames Cloud for why I didn't go to university. When I was visiting Aerith and Zack at Radiant Garden University, Cloud's sister called me, bawling her eyes out. It took three minutes of her unable to explain what was wrong for Vanitas to take the phone from her and tell me to come home right away. He said they'd all be at the hospital. Around the same time, Reno called Zack, saying Xion keeled over and wasn't waking up. The three of us jumped in Zack's car and raced back home.

The first person I saw was Axel. Even though he's a year older than me, my first thought was  _poor kid_. He had deep bags under his eyes as dark as the two tattoos on his cheekbones. We left Radiant Garden ten hours ago (fucking traffic). It was nearly five in the morning. Had he slept at all?

Axel turned a weary head to us and raised an arm limply to point across from him, where Vanitas and Naminé were curled on an uncomfortable-looking sofa, both of them out-cold.

"They've been asleep for only an hour," he said, his voice raspy. "Reno took Kairi to our grandmother's. Then he was called into work."

Zack took the seat next to Axel, eyebrows knit together in worry. "How's Xion? Who else is here?" he asked, wringing his hands together. Beside me, Aerith began twisting her engagement ring around her finger. They both played with their hands when they were nervous.

Axel shrugged, defeated. "No one knows what the hell's wrong," he said. "There are so many people here."

"Who else is sick?"

"Too many faces to count and remember. A lot of kids though. Some were Xion's age. Most were younger. A few older people too." He nodded at the two sleeping Strife siblings. "Vanitas called me right after Reno got off the phone with you. The ones not sitting on that bench are with Xion. Their asshole mother chose not to return from her 'business trip'. We had to use both cars to bring them all in. By then this place was already packed. Their parents all gave up by now, but Naminé is a stubborn little girl sometimes." He snorted and reclined further into his plastic chair. "Some fucking mess this is, right?"

I turned toward the fifteen- and twelve-year-olds on the couch with a frown. They surely looked as exhausted as Axel was. Naminé's eyes were red and puffy. Vanitas had a few bruises and cuts, probably from trying to keep control and wake up his siblings without any self-precaution. I smiled at the thought. As much of a prick he could be, he truly had a heart under that tough exterior.

Aerith and I sat on the chairs too, me next to Axel and Aerith next to Zack. An hour later, Axel went outside to smoke, then grabbed us breakfast from the cafeteria: egg biscuit sandwiches and large coffees. We thanked him and ate in silence. I told the others I'd get the kids breakfast when they woke up.

Half an hour later, a doctor came downstairs and said they've called other families already. The results wouldn't be ready for another few days. They were as clueless as the rest of us. In the meantime, she needed to find her youngest grandson's whereabouts, and took off. Axel told me that her youngest grandson was Riku, one of Sora and Kairi's friends. I nodded and sipped on cold coffee silently.

It wasn't until eight when Vanitas stirred, waking Naminé in the process. She laid eyes on me and bit her lip, tears welled in her eyes. Vanitas took her hand and rubbed his thumb lightly against the back of it.

I sighed. This was going to be long. "Vanitas, do you know where the spare key is?" I asked gently. He nodded. "Then let's all go back to your place until your brothers wake up." Again, he nodded, before yawning. Axel said he'll take Vanitas, before picking him up and carrying him out. I carried Naminé back to Zack's car and sat with her in the backseat. Aerith sat solemnly in the passenger seat. Zack clenched his jaw the entire ride.

The following days were a blur. Naminé only left her room to use the bathroom or eat. Vanitas was glued to the TV. Axel called Reno repeatedly, only to get his voicemail instead, and eventually had to pick up Kairi. Zack and Aerith called their teachers to let them know what was happening back home. I tried to keep everyone's spirits up the best I could, but it felt pointless.

Three days later, Vanitas called us all into the common room, saying we all needed to see what was on the TV. It was a news report about the contamination of the water supply, via ShinRa's illegal dumping, that had caused half the town to get sick.

Axel grabbed his keys and said to expect a call from jail.

Vanitas texted his boss, saying he and Cloud quit.

Naminé went back to her room. Kairi followed.

And Zack lost it. He barely made it into Cloud's room before we all heard his crying and screaming. Aerith stood outside the door, trying to coax him.

After staring at the TV in shock, I joined Kairi and Naminé in the latter's room. Nothing else made sense anyway.

Cloud's mother called. She said she'd heard what had happened, and there was no way she could handle watching her babies die. I called her a bitch, a spineless, cold-hearted bitch who had no excuse to live her pathetic life while her sons were losing their own. I had to hang up when Naminé started getting upset.

Naminé asked if Riku could stay with them, because his grandparents were too busy to come home, and his family was all in the hospital. I told her yes. Zack picked him up, then made a detour at the city jailhouse to bring a recently-released Axel home. He announced with great pride that he knocked out Rufus Shinra's lights, before going to sleep on Vanitas' bed.

Five days later, Kairi was starting to get sick. Axel didn't bother packing their bags, just put Kairi in the back seat and took off. Reno came knocking at our door, and it took me an hour to convince him that we didn't know where Axel had gone.

When Cloud and his three brothers finally came home, two weeks later, all stricken with this unknown and at the time unnamed disease, I knew what I had to do.

I called my dad and told him to forget college. I was going to help Cloud and his brothers.

* * *

When I return home from the graveyard shift at Luxord's bar, the house is more chaotic than usual. And by chaotic, that means Roxas is home.

I don't hate the kid, really. He's such a beautiful boy, like Cloud was at his age. But he has such a bitter disposition that it easily brings down everyone around him. When he's home, he picks fights with us, especially Cloud and Vanitas. That becomes his excuse for packing up his bags and moving back in with Axel. Yesterday afternoon, I went over to bring him back home, and had to drag him by his arm to the car. When we were home, he started shooting off his mouth, and I nearly smacked the kid into obedience before Vanitas forced Roxas into his room and locked the door (we had to put the lock on the outside of the triplet's room – we didn't trust him enough, nor was he stupid enough to jump out the window).

Today, he's taking his revenge.

"Roxas, Vanitas says we have to go," Ventus tries to reason from the hall.

"Fuck off, I'm not going to fucking school," Roxas snaps, his voice muffled by the door. "I dropped out."

"Excuse me, but you are seventeen years old, young man, and your ass should be and is going to school," Cloud says sternly from the bottom of the stairs.

"Come off it, Cloud, you're not my parent."

"You should be damn glad that I'm not, because I sure as hell would've locked my son up for dating a man older than  _I_  am!"

"Child abuser!"

On the couch near me, Naminé is comforting Sora, who always gets upset when Roxas acts out. Vanitas leans against the wall by the front door, toying with his keys.

"He better get his ass down here," he warns. "I'm out of here in five minutes."

That does it. I push past Cloud to get upstairs and motion for Ventus to join his brothers. I take a deep breath and say, "Roxas Strife, I swear on my life, if you're not dressed  _in your school uniform_  and in the backseat of your brother's car in the next five minutes, I will kick down this door and make you regret this bullshit you're putting everyone through! And if one smart-ass comment comes out of your mouth, I will smack you! Is that clear?"

I don't wait for him to reply. When I'm downstairs, all of the siblings are gaping at me. I shrug. They know he had it coming.

Four minutes later, Vanitas pulls out of the driveway, with Roxas scowling in the backseat.

"I'm going to bed," I tell Cloud. "Wake me up at–"

"Before you go to bed, Teef," he interrupts, "I was wondering if you'd heard?"

"Heard what?"

"About Rinoa?"

Rinoa Heartilly, one of the girls Cloud had met at the hospital through numerous visits, has slowly become a good friend of the family. Along with introducing her to our friends, we met Zell, Irvine, Quistis, and Squall. Squall and Zell were the only ones who weren't infected with Geostigma, and the group of five had no other friends or family in the area until Rinoa and Cloud met. Irvine died three years ago, with Quistis following only months later. We were all in denial about Rinoa dying, especially Squall, to whom she is engaged to.

But by Cloud's tearful look, something told me it was more appropriate to say that they  _were_  engaged.

"When?" I ask quietly.

"Around two in the morning," Cloud says. "Squall's been an absolute wreck. I offered for him to stay with us, if he needed to. I think he'll be coming by later today or tomorrow."

"Alright. Should I set up a room? I can camp on the couch, and Naminé can share a room with–"

"That won't be necessary," Cloud interrupts. "Squall and I can share a bed."

I give him a Look. Everyone, Rinoa and Squall included, knows that Cloud has the biggest crush on Squall. "Are you sure?"

" _Yes_ , Tifa. I'm not going to take advantage of a heartbroken man. Do you really think I'm that shallow?"

"I dunno. You haven't been with another person in six years."

Cloud looks at me sternly. "I won't do anything."

I stand and go upstairs. I know Cloud well enough not to trust him. As much as he judges Roxas for his and Axel's relationship, I know  _exactly_  where he picked up his standards from. I just hope that Squall doesn't fall for him like Axel had. It's already bad enough dealing with Roxas' drama.

* * *

At the funeral reception, held at Luxord's bar, I warily eye Cloud and Squall in the corner, and how "subtly" their hands linger together.

"Grip that stein any harder and it'll shatter," Demyx teases. He follows my gaze and sees why I'm ready to break the glass I'm cleaning. "Don't intervene, Tifa. It won't end well."

"Rinoa  _just_  died," I say quietly. "Cloud told me he wouldn't make any moves on Squall. It's not like Squall doesn't know about Cloud's condition. Why would he rush into another relationship with someone who he knows won't stick around for much longer?"

Demyx smiles and shrugs sheepishly. "The same reason I'm in a relationship with Zexion. I know that he's not going to stick around for the next fifty or so years. Hell, we're lucky to have the next fifty  _days_  together. It freaks him out, too. The number of times we'll yell over shit like that keeps on climbing higher, and we'll fight over it on his deathbed."

I put down the stein and turn to face him. "Then why do you put yourself through this?"

"Because I love him. And maybe Squall, despite always acting like an emotionless bastard, is someone who needs another person to love." He motions to the corner of the bar. "Cloud's the one who has been there for him. Of course he's the first one he starts to love again."

"But it doesn't make sense," I insist.

"When does love ever make sense?" Demyx pinches my cheek and slaps it gently. "Maybe we need to find you a beau of your own. Then you'll understand."

I roll my eyes. "I don't have the time for relationships. I have six stubborn Strifes to care for."

"Why can't you leave them on their own?"

"Because they can't even get Roxas out of his room. Who's going to scare the kid into going to school when they give up?"

Demyx laughs and walks off. I watch him as he sits down at the same table as Zexion, sneaking behind him and covering his eyes with his hands. Zexion, as stoic as always, moves the hands away and rolls his eyes. Demyx kisses his cheek and pulls him into a hug. The couple sitting across from them, Marluxia and Vexen, are sitting cheek-to-cheek, smiling contently.

Everywhere, actually, there are couples who have to deal with Geostigma. They've always been in my life. Not just Demyx and Zexion and Marluxia and Vexen. There's Axel and Roxas. Vanitas and Xion. Yuffie and Vincent, way back when. Squall and Rinoa, up until a few days ago.

Now, it's Squall and Cloud.

But Demyx is wrong. I do put myself on the line for the people I love. The people I would die for.

Their names are Cloud, Vanitas, Ventus, Naminé, Roxas, and Sora.


	4. Vexen

_Teachers who taught infected students were harsh. Many science lessons were filled with allusions to Darwinism, claiming that Geostigma was the way of killing off those with weaker immune systems. Health classes tricked students into believing it resembled an STD, and having sex would infect you. One history professor at Kingdom County College showed allusions between the Holocaust and Geostigma, and how infected people were purposefully cast out so they would be targeted easier. The professor was fired for undeclared reasons._

_The rate of drop-outs with Geostigma is sixty-seven percent in high school and college students. Private schools and college tuitions have become more expensive to keep up with this. Administrators haven't attempted to make school environments friendlier, and one board member had been quoted as calling it "a waste"._

* * *

**_Full Name: Vexen Albert Chill_ **

**_DOB: 4/11/1979_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: PhD in Chemistry, B.A. in Education_ **

**_Employment: Professor at Radiant Garden University_ **

**_Family: N/A_ **

**_Partner: Marluxia Farron_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

"Have you ever been to Land of Dragons?" I call out to Marluxia as I grade lab notebooks.

"No," he replies. He moves plates from the table to the sink and begins to wash them.

"What about Olympus? You love the Coliseum restaurant."

Marluxia stops washing dishes to lean on the counter and smirk at me. "Something on your mind, professor?"

"School gets out at the beginning of May. I was thinking we could go on vacation. We could visit a new place. Or maybe go around the world for the summer."

His smirk quickly twists into a frown. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"I can talk to Doctor Crescent about getting your medication in advance. We're old colleagues. I'm sure she'll say yes. Oh, we could go to de Cité de la Cloches too!"

Marluxia quickly returns to his work. "You know that won't happen," he says quietly. "My family disowned me long ago. Back when my parents were alive. Things haven't gotten better yet."

"You don't know that!" I say optimistically. "When was the last time you spoke to your sisters?"

"Three years ago, when I told Claire that I moved in with you," he answers. "I distinctly remember the words, 'Don't call us again,' before she hung up the phone."

"Yes, but that was three years ago."

"Yes, and nothing has changed. When Serah got married, I found out through social media. She could have had her older brother walk her down the aisle, but  _no_ , she had her father-in-law do it! Damn it!" Marluxia throws the sponge in the sink and turns off the tap. I slightly cringe. Marluxia hates talking about his family with anyone, even Larxene.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I'll drop it."

"Thanks," he replies. Something tells me I'm not forgiven yet.

"How about we go someplace closer? We could always rent a beach house at Destiny Island–"

"Vexen, would you shut the hell up about taking a trip?" he snaps. "I don't want to go on any fucking trips!" He storms past me, almost knocking me out of my chair as he does.

When the bedroom door slams shut, I groan. It looks like I'll be spending the night on the couch – for the third time this month.

* * *

Teaching eight-thirty-in-the-morning classes after spending six hours tossing and turning on a couch too short to sleep on is absolute torture. On top of that, most of the students didn't do the homework assignment, which I figured from reading their lab reports. I give them a twenty-question pop quiz on said assignment and tell them they can leave when they finish. My TA, Zexion, is instructed to return their lab notebooks when the students turn in the quizzes, and to grade them, too. Two hours later, I drag myself to the staff lounge, Zexion on my heels.

"You look like a nightmare," he comments as he refills his travel mug with coffee. "Rough night?"

"Dog-housed again," I answer, before sipping my own coffee. "This time, we fought about vacationing and family."

"Hmm." Zexion sits at one of the empty tables, placing his messenger bag on the floor and staring at me as I take the seat across from him.

"I don't understand, either," I continue. "Every little thing sets him off now. We could be talking about the weather, and he'll freak out and start yelling at me. Some days, he refuses to let me even  _touch_  him. And just when I think we're okay again, that we're back to normal, he goes off again! He won't tell me why, either!"

Zexion nods, absently scratching at his chest. He only does so when there's no one around that he doesn't trust. He revealed long ago his Jenova sores, scattered on his chest, and explained that they would itch every now and then. Marluxia scratches the back of his neck when his sores act up, so I quickly understood. As it worsened, Zexion wore darker shirts, on top of the bandages he had wrapped around his chest, so if the sores oozed too much, they were easier to hide from the general public. So far, since he is still my TA, not many people, if any at all, have noticed.

"If it helps, I might have an idea as to why Marluxia is acting out," he says.

I raise an eyebrow suspiciously. "How would you know?" I ask.

"Simple. He comes over to my apartment and Luxord's bar enough times for me to eavesdrop."

On most occasions, I am against snooping on others, be it their conversations or their belongings. However, I'm more desperate than respective at this point. "Go on," I urge.

Zexion takes a minute to recompose himself, mostly fixing his shirt so no one would suspect he'd been scratching his chest. "Marluxia has grown more self-conscious over these past few weeks," he says. "He won't let anyone touch his neck or hair. He's scared to sit or stand close to people. On top of that, the death of Miss Heartilly has put the idea in his head that he's going to be the next to die." Zexion snorts. "I almost want to tell him that he's much further from dying than I am, but I can't put Demyx through that. He was close to Rinoa; he won't be able to deal with my death."

"If Marluxia is afraid of dying, then why is he pushing me away?" I ask. "If anything, wouldn't he want to be closer to me? You know, spend every last moment together?"

"I thought the same thing. But, again, look at Rinoa's death. Her fiancé may have found a new partner, but he's been unable to open up to his friends or new lover about it. Marluxia think that by pushing you away, you won't be grieving over his death, and perhaps won't miss him when he's gone."

"But… why?" I run my fingers through my hair. "That doesn't make any sense."

"You wouldn't understand," Zexion says. "It's hard to be in the other person's shoes in a situation like this. I know; I tried."

I stare at him, astonished. Zexion may not be the poster child of affection, but when he finds someone he cares about, he latches to them. Demyx is possibly the only person who he truly cares about enough to hold them close. "What happened?" I feel like I'm invading his personal life, but Zexion doesn't seem to mind.

"He locked me in a room and held on to me until I promised to stop pushing him away," he says. "As childish as it sounds, it worked out for the both of us."

I nod. I refuse to stoop as low as Demyx has, but I think I know a way to win Marluxia back.

* * *

Sex with Marluxia is amazing. He's passionate and consistent with his movements. He lets you know exactly how he feels without beating around any bushes. And when we don't have sex in a long time (any longer than two weeks), it's even more amazing.

As we lay beside each other under the covers, regaining our breaths, Marluxia turns his head toward me and asks, "Where did  _that_  come from?"

"What do you mean?" I ask through my panting.

Marluxia rolls onto his side, propping his head up with his arm and tracing a finger through beads of sweat on my chest. "You were an animal."

"Really? I was?"

Marluxia growls, dragging his nail across my collarbone. "I haven't seen you like that since my twenty-fifth birthday."

"Well, you know… I just missed this," I say, not putting much thought into my brain-to-mouth filter. "We've just been at each other's throats these past weeks, and it's been putting us both on edge. It's tiring, always fighting with you. I don't want to fight with you either. So when Zexion asked about it, I told him…" I stop when Marluxia's finger stops moving. I look at him. Damn. He is not happy.

"You were talking with him about our relationship?" he asks darkly.

"Yes, I was."

"I see." Marluxia shifts away from me and reaches for his robe. I sit up.

"Please don't walk away," I say.

"Please don't tell other people what happens in my home," Marluxia retorts.

"That's not fair. You talk to so many people about your relationship, including Zexion's boyfriend, and even Zexion when he's in the room. Why can't I talk to him about it?"

"You just can't, okay?" Marluxia stands and throws on his robe. I swear and reach for my jeans on the floor. I don't bother buttoning them before I intercept Marluxia at the door, holding out my arm and blocking him from walking out. He crosses his arms over his chest and huffs in annoyance.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing," he answers.

"No, not nothing." Marluxia turns his head away. I step forward and raise my hand, cupping his cheek gently. "Why can't you tell me?"

"I just can't. Why won't you leave it be?"

"Because that's how we start yelling at each other over everything. I want to talk these things out, but you won't let me."

"Then you should just leave me be."

"I don't  _want_  to leave you be. I want you to open up."

"No, I just – goddamnit – I just –  _god_!" Marluxia shoves my hand away and storms over to the closet. He takes out some of his clothes and a bookbag.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"To Luxord's," Marluxia answers.

"So that's it? You're going to run away until I drop it?"

"Now there's the smart man I know."

I cross my arms and scowl. "But where's the loving man  _I_  know?" I ask quietly.

Marluxia pauses as he balls up a shirt, before returning to throwing in random clothes. He dresses himself in all-black clothing and ties back his hair. I get a chaste kiss on the cheek before he walks out, slamming the door behind him.

I sit on the bed and rake my fingers over my scalp. I want to run after him, jump in front of his car and beg him to stay. But I know when he needs his space. In a few days, he'll come back.

Come back to awkward pauses and unanswered questions, lashing out if the wrong words are spoken. Coming back to half-empty beds and avoiding the same rooms. Coming back to never agreeing and always fighting.

I want to cry, but I don't let myself. One of us has to be strong for us both, even if neither of us can admit that we're weak.


	5. Xion

_Twilight Town Hospital is the only place that treats those with Geostigma, led by Doctor Lucrecia Crescent. Very few doctors were willing to jump on board, mostly because of the significant toll it would take on their paychecks, as doctors and nurses working in this ward would make at least ten thousand dollars less annually. There are only ten doctors and nurses employed in this field. One of them, a previous professor at Radiant Garden University, had moved to the ward to keep track of those with Geostigma who were also fighting depression and/or suicidal thoughts._

_The leader of that ward is Professor Hojo, Dr. Crescent's husband. In a report he'd released two years ago, he stated that most of his patients were mostly adults in their mid-twenties or older._

* * *

**_Full Name: Xion Fair_ **

**_DOB: 12/5/1998_ **

**_Sex: Female_ **

**_Level of Education: Current High School Student_ **

**_Employment: N/A_ **

**_Family: Father (no contact), mother (no contact), one older brother, one older sister-in-law_ **

**_Partner: Vanitas Blade_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Positive_ **

**_If Positive, Current Status: Jenova cells, no visible sores, physical and mental weakness, fatigue_ **

* * *

I remembered waking up to bright white lights blinding me and my mouth extremely dry. I felt too weak to sit up, or to ask anyone where I was. I blinked a few times, but the lights were still too much, especially with the white background. I moved an arm up, gasping at the tubes and needles adorning it. I put it back down and lifted the other arm. That one had a hospital bracelet loosely hanging around the wrist.

I didn't remember how I got there. Last I remembered, Kairi and I were playing with dolls in her room. Where was Kairi? Was she here too? I gathered all the energy I had left to push myself into a sitting position. To my left was either Roxas or Ventus (before the sickness, they were too similar differentiate, but their behaviors and Roxas' sores make it easier to point out). To my right was Sora. Neither boy stirred. Both were unnaturally pale.

I was scared. I began crying – I was only ten, and I was so confused – and asking for my parents. My heartrate monitor began beeping faster, and nurses filed in to calm me down. That only made things worse. Their latex-gloved hands grabbing me and trying to push me onto my back put me into hysterics. Eventually, Riku's grandma came in and ushered them out, asking me if I wanted to talk to my brother. I sniffled and nodded, accepting her cellphone and dialing his number (the only number I knew by heart). When I heard his voice, all panicky and crazed, I began crying again. I still didn't know what was happening, and I had scared my brother too. I was tired. I wanted something to drink. I wanted to go home. I wanted to know what had happened.

After I got off the phone with Zack, Riku's grandma sat down and told me what happened. Then I wished she hadn't told me at all.

* * *

"Inhale deeply," Aerith instructs. "Then exhale. Good job. Do that a few more times."

I wince as the cold metal of the stethoscope moves across my naked back. Vanitas stares as I inhale, eyes focused on my chest. I feel like I should be embarrassed from only wearing my panties in front of my boyfriend, but he's a nurse. (And by now he's seen more than enough of my naked body during these sessions.) Aerith hums as she removes the stethoscope and writes something in my file.

"When was your last dizzy spell?" she asks.

I shrug. "Last week, I think."

"Uh huh. What else did you feel during then? Any nausea? Headache? Physical or mental weakness?"

"Um, I think I had a headache." I don't remember. My mind comes and goes as of lately. It has Zack terrified and my teachers angry. It's annoying being the sick kid.

Aerith tries not to show her disappointment, but she always wears her emotions. Vanitas hands me my dress and offers a weak smile. I put it back on and wait patiently for Aerith's verdict.

"I would avoid any strenuous physical activity for the next week," she says. "I'll give you a note on Monday to take to school to excuse you from gym. If your headaches get any worse, we'll talk about you not taking any tests or quizzes in school too."

I want to crack a joke about how much easier life will be without gym, but now I'll have another target on my back. Who knows how long it'll be before I'm hit with a basketball while I'm sitting on the sideline.

"Hey." I look up to Aerith. She's smiling (big surprise there). "You're not as bad as you think you are."

No. You don't understand as much as you think you do.

"Can I go now?" I ask.

"Of course. Tell Cloud I say hello."

"Will do." I hop down from the table and exit the office. My overnight bag is already packed and waiting downstairs with my shoes. I grab them both and go right to Vanitas' car. I put on my shoes and wait quietly for him to come and unlock it. He comes out a few minutes later, still shoving his belongings into his workbag. I get in his car the second he unlocks it, my hands fiddling with the zippers on my bag.

"You really aren't as bad as you think, Xi," Vanitas says as he starts the car.

"What makes you say that?" I ask.

"You still have your sanity, for one."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"Have you seen my family? Ven and I are the only ones who haven't gone completely nuts. Sora acts like he's got ecstasy for blood, Naminé and Cloud are in denial about their depression, and Roxas is a whole other story. He thinks no one knows that he's now living with Zexion."

"Who?"

"He was in the same grade as me? My class valedictorian? I told you, he was the one who was held back because he was too sick to – ah, shit, forget it."

Too late. I remember him now. The town went nuts when they announced the highest marks in Vanitas' class was from one of us sick kids. They wanted him to lose his title, but his GPA was too much farther from the next kid's that they were robbing him too blatantly to have it overlooked. He gave a nice speech at the ceremony.

"Why's he there?" I ask. "Roxas, I mean."

"Because Axel's is too obvious, and I think he's fighting with Kairi this time. You can't really kick out the little sister, now can you? Especially not one like Kairi."

"Of course not. She'd kick his ass and throw him out herself."

Vanitas snorts. "There's my girl. I was starting to wonder where she's been all day."

I stare out the window and ignore his comment. The rest of the car ride is quiet.

* * *

Vanitas' family is never having a good day. They have bad days, less-than-bad days, and terrible days. I catch them on a terrible day.

It starts a little after dinner, with Sora, Ventus, and Vanitas playing a video game and Naminé and I watching, when Tifa comes home with Roxas' arm tight in her grip. She throws him forward and slams the door behind her. I instinctively grab Naminé's hand, while Vanitas pauses the game and Ventus moves in front of Sora.

"Hiding out at Luxord's? That's a new low," Tifa says. Huh. Guess Zexion is as warm as I remember him being.

"Bitch," Roxas spits.

"What did you just call me?"

"Piss off! You're not my mom!" Roxas storms up the stairs. Tifa stays planted downstairs.

"Be grateful that I'm not! I'd lock you in the basement if I were for dating a man older than I am!"

"Stay out of my life!" A door upstairs slams shut. There's stomping, then the sound of a doorknob jiggling.

"Roxas, you better unlock this door right now," Cloud orders.

"Stay out of this, Cloud!" Roxas shouts.

I look at Naminé. Her face is blank. She's left the building, and it seems like Sora's not far behind.

"Apologize to Tifa, Roxas!"

"Apologize? What for?"

"You know what! Go do it!"

"Leave me alone!" Roxas sounds like he's crying. I furrow my brow. Roxas always gets angry at his brother, but he never cries.

Vanitas stands up and motions for the rest of us to do the same. "I think it's bedtime, kiddies," he says. "C'mon, before you all fall asleep without brushing your teeth."

"Gross," I mutter. I stand and stretch my legs. Ventus pulls Naminé to her feet and leads her upstairs. Vanitas helps Sora stand, but then carries him when Sora almost tips back over. Tifa offers to help me, but I shake my head. I head into the basement (renovated into Vanitas' room, since there's hardly room for the seven people who live here) and get ready for bed. I'm dressing into an oversized black shirt and red shorts when Vanitas finally makes his way downstairs. He looks exhausted.

"I hope Roxas feels bad about what he's done and apologizes," he says as he pulls down his jeans.

"But you don't think he will," I say.

"No, not particularly. The kid was never taught how to feel like shit for anyone but himself. One of these days, though, he'll learn his lesson for being a prick." Vanitas walks over to me and presses a kiss on the top of my head. "I blame Axel."

"Don't," I say quickly. I have been Axel's friend for years, since Kairi and I were in preschool together. Him and I hit it off better, and years later Roxas joined our duo to form the perfect trio. Sometimes they tease me about being the third wheel, but I don't care. At least, I don't care when they aren't fighting. When they're fighting, and back when this disease first started spreading, we spend some time apart.

I find myself pulling out my phone and shooting off a text to Axel and Roxas. Vanitas looks on as I do. "It's a little late, don't you think?" he asks.

"Doesn't matter," I reply. "You know he needs this. Will you cover?"

Vanitas hesitates, but he nods. "I'll say he's sick in my bathroom and you're the only one he'll let in."

"Good." I stand on my toes and kiss him. "If we're not back by two, call me."

"And if you don't answer?"

"Then wait another hour before worrying."

* * *

I sit on the edge of the clock tower ledge, my feet swinging against the humid air. I can see the high tides of the beach in a gap between two tall buildings, glistening under the moonlight. For a moment, I think that maybe I'll be the only person out here tonight, but then I decide that of course I won't be. Roxas loves taking chances to run away from home.

An hour into my wait, Axel shows up with three sea-salt ice cream bars. He hands one to me before sitting next to me. "I assumed that 'just like old times' meant that I was paying," he says.

"Of course it does," I tease. Less light-heartedly, I add, "You're the only one of us with a job."

"Barely. It's Reno who brings home all the grease-soaked bacon."

"Bacon that pays for Kairi's medical bills."

"Bacon that put Kairi there in the first place," Axel says sternly. "And you and Roxas, too. No wonder everyone's always warning you about how unhealthy it is."

"Axel…" I don't have the heart to fight him. He's right, after all.

"So what prompted this little rendezvous?" he asks.

"Roxas was dragged home, and it got messy pretty fast," I say. "Anything exciting on your front?"

"Larxene posted bail a few hours ago. I would've been here sooner, but this story was much more interesting. She had Molotovs and everything."

"Goof for her, fighting the good fight."

"Uh huh." The conversation falls victim to silence as we eat out ice cream in silence.

I reach the end of my stick. I take out my phone and hold the dimly lit screen to the stick. "Not a winner," I say.

"Mine neither," says Axel, who's mimicking me. "Maybe Roxas' was."

"Let's find out," Roxas says as he rounds the corner and sits down next to Axel. He takes his ice cream without any bravado and eats it in silence. I move to sit on the other side of him and lay my head on his shoulder. I feel Axel's arm snake its way around his waist. Roxas puts his free hand on my thigh. His hand is cool.

We sit here like this, staring at the moonlight sky and high tide in the gap between two tall buildings, without saying a word. We don't have to say a word either. We don't need to to know that we all miss just spending time together without all the drama.

Roxas holds out his empty stick, angling it to see it with the moon's help. "Not a winner," he announces.

"Hmm," Axel says. "Maybe next time one of us will get the right stick."

"Sure," I say. "Next time."


	6. Zack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: There are parts of this chapter that will hint at child abuse.

_Five months after the initial Geostigma outbreak, CEO of ShinRa, Rufus Shinra, made his first public appearance at a press conference held in the parking lot outside the east wing. He was wheeled out by his body guard, claiming he’d been handicapped as a result of direct contact with the cause of Geostigma. He covered himself with a blanket and only spoke to his body guard, who relayed it to the press. Without answering any of their questions, he retired to his main office, never to leave the building since then._

_Even with a full staff, only four employees – Reno Flynn, Rude Freeman, Elena Workman, and Tseng Yu – allowed access to the upper levels, all being the private quarters of Rufus Shinra. His other employees are lucky to see him more than five times a year._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Zack Fair_ **

**_DOB: 11/19/1988_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: B.A. in Accounting_ **

**_Employment: Accountant_ **

**_Family: Father (no contact), mother (no contact), wife, one younger sister_ **

**_Partner: Aerith Gainsborough_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

 

“As wonderful as it is that he’s turning twenty-one, I’m still uncomfortable with you going out with Vanitas – _alone_ – this weekend,” I say.

Xion lets out a groan. “But Za- _ack_ ,” she whines, “it’s not fair- _uh_.”

“Stop acting out and finish your peas.”

Xion pokes at her dinner with her fork. “Yet Roxas is allowed to sleep with Axel,” she mumbles. Aerith nearly chokes on her water, and I can’t tell if her face is red from choking or embarrassment.

“Stop playing the Roxas card every time I bring up you and Vanitas,” I say. “I’m not Roxas’ brother; I’m yours. And unlike Roxas, you aren’t off the handle.”

“I know.” Xion smiles faintly. “It’s just fun to hear you admit that I’m sane.”

“I don’t see why you shouldn’t let them go out,” Aerith says. “Vanitas has been working more hours between here and the hospital.”

“He said that he wanted to buy the triplets a nice present for their birthday,” I say.

“He is. But he also wants to treat his girlfriend. What’s so wrong with that?”

I drop my fork. “This conversation is over,” I decide. “Xion, you need to finish your homework and go to bed.”

“But–”

“We’ll talk about this later after I have some time to sit on it, okay? I promise.” I give my sister a smile. She doesn’t look ready to believe me yet. “Now go do your homework. I’ll get your plate.”

“Okay.” Xion pushes her chair back from the table and heads down the hall to her room.

Once I hear her shut her bedroom door, I turn to Aerith. “Really?” I ask. It comes out like a whine (Xion and I share this bad habit).

“What?” she replies innocently.

“You helped make me look like the bad guy back there. ‘What’s so wrong with that?’ Now she’ll think I’m the asshole,” I explain.

“Oh, Zack, you know I didn’t mean to do that. I just think she should be allowed to go out with Vanitas. She’s a big girl. She knows what she should and shouldn’t do. If you keep her cooped up, she’ll just grow rebellious. We all know how that turns out for some kids.”

I furrow my brows. Aerith sounds playful, but she looks solemn. No smile, no sparkle in her eye, nada. I brush it off. “We promised Cloud we’d stop talking badly about Roxas,” I say as I gather mine and Xion’s plates.

“I know, but you know that the kid is just a trainwreck nowadays,” Aerith says. She grabs her own dishes and follows me into the kitchen. “I went to the bar the other day, and Tifa was practically dragging the kid out by his ear. And between that and Sora – not to mention Naminé – I just wish Cloud would let us in, you know?”

“We also promised not to interfere, Aer. You may do the kids and Cloud’s check-ups, but that doesn’t mean you need to bottle-feed them too.”

“Oh, sweetie, you know me.”

I do. All too well. Aerith has a compulsive need to help everybody and keep everything in line. Nothing is allowed to be chaotic in the slightest when Aerith is there. She says it’s her “nurse instinct”, but I know it’s more. Xion says she’s never seen Aerith not care about someone, and that her heart was too big for her.

Aerith hums as she does the dishes. I tell her that I’m going to Luxord’s and kiss her cheek before heading out the door. I can hear Xion blasting YuRiPa from her room.

* * *

 

“Luxord, I know that this bar means the world to you and all of our family and friends, but the fact of the matter is that between the health inspections and the rent, your business is bound to tank within the next year,” I say. I grab my highlighter and mark sections of the papers set on the countertop.

Luxord rolls his eyes. “That’s what you always say,” he says. “And I’m still going strong.”

“Don’t forget about your employees.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

“Aqua, Tifa, and Demyx are the only ones that aren’t in the wrong. But Riku is twenty, Yuffie just turned twenty-one – and was working here long before that birthday – Axel is a pedophile, and Larxene has an outstanding criminal record.”

“My crimes are for humanity, not against it,” Larxene says as she takes the seat beside me. “Taking down The Man and whatnot for making everyone sick.”

“Doesn’t excuse your criminal record. You know, if Luxord’s bar closes, you’ll be lucky to work a drive-thru window.”

“Don’t rule out sex work. It’s an honest living.”

I can’t argue with her there. I turn back to the papers in front of me. I switch my highlighter for a pen. “To be completely honest, I know you’ll end up pulling through. Despite the numerous failed health inspections, you’re the only person who serves those with Geostigma. If you didn’t, you’d be done for.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Luxord says. “If I didn’t serve them, I wouldn’t fail any health inspections.”

I smile weakly. “And that’s how life is.” I gather up the papers and stack them in a semi-neat pile. I look around the bar to only see Yuffie and Aqua gossiping by the kitchen window. “I have two questions.”

“Shoot.”

“Where’s the rest of your wait staff?”

Larxene snorts. I raise an eyebrow at her. “Our resident pedophile and his little boy-toy were caught sneaking around, so everyone’s making sure neither of them escape again. That, and Riku is hosting a sleepover with Kairi and Sora.”

I nod. “Next, when the hell are you hiring a real cook so you serve more than chips and assorted nuts?”

Luxord shrugged. “Aqua’s roommate might do it whenever he gets his shit together.” Luxord extends a hand, which I shake in return. “Thanks for stopping by, Zack. Tell the missus to stop by soon.”

“Will do. See you around.”

* * *

 

I decide to swing by Cloud and Tifa’s place on my way home, to make sure the whole house isn’t turned upside-down because of Roxas. I’ve known the kid for years, and as much as I like him, I dislike how problematic he’s become ever since he’s become sick. It’s not a particularly polite thing to say, but he’s been brattier since then, and we all know it.

Vanitas is the one who opens the door when I arrive. I can here muffled shouting in the background. “Tifa took matters into her own hands and is now fighting with Roxas in the basement. She thought it would make it harder for him to leave, and she’s not afraid to make him stay down there,” he explains.

“Isn’t that illegal?” I ask.

“After yesterday, nobody cares what she does with him.” Vanitas opens the door wider and steps back to let me in. I enter the house as Cloud enters the living room, carrying three beers. He hands one to Squall, who’s sitting on the couch. I still can’t figure out how they’re a couple, but I know better than to ask Cloud. He and Tifa already fight about it.

“Vanitas, can you check on Naminé and Sora?” Cloud asks. Vanitas nods and goes upstairs. I sit on the unoccupied couch and shake my head when Cloud holds out a beer. He shrugs and places it on the floor.

“I can see things are going spectacular for you guys,” I say.

Cloud snorts. “Yeah, I wish,” he says. “Surprisingly enough, Roxas isn’t even my biggest concern, though I guess I’ve just about given up on corralling him.” He glances at the staircase. “Sora’s getting worse. His medical bills have skyrocketed now that his mind’s starting to go. One of his friends has started bringing him coffee in school so he’ll stay awake. The principal wants me to pull him out of classes – and I’m not even allowed into the school! Only Tifa can go in for him because she’s…” Cloud looks ready to cry, but instead, he downs the rest of his beer. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “And Nami’s just gone half the time. School’s the only place she isn’t out of it, and that’s because she spends half the day in the art room.

“Tifa and I can barely afford anything anymore. She’s about to start doing housework around town for extra cash. Naminé is selling her artwork. Vanitas is using all the money he had saved up for his and the triplet’s birthdays to pay for Sora’s medical bills and help contribute to the rent. It’s just…” Again, just as Cloud looks ready to cry, he grabs the beer on the floor and opens it. Squall is silent.

I feel bad. I know Aerith and I have Xion to take care of, but that’s two-to-one, versus three-to-four with one being extremely sick. And of all the Strife siblings, Ventus is the most sound of mind. (I would add Vanitas to that, but Xion has mentioned that he has a temper that gets the best of him about once a week.) We all know that the pressure is starting to get to Cloud, but he’s such a hermit that it’s hard to get him to open up.

Again, I hear shouting from the basement, mostly Roxas. I cringe. Is Tifa really keeping him in the basement? And why is nobody intervening? What is their family becoming?

“Why don’t I take Roxas for the night,” I find myself offering. “I’m sure Aerith won’t mind, and Xion says she misses hanging out with him. Plus, I’m sure he’s overdue for a check-up.”

* * *

 

“I know you hate me.”

I quickly learn that Roxas doesn’t just dislike Tifa and Cloud, but he dislikes anyone older than him who isn’t Axel. What he does like is baiting them into giving him what he secretly wants: attention. He’s worse than the cat Aerith had way back in junior high.

“You’re best friends with Cloud and Tifa. You probably sit around all day with them, talking about how horrible I am. About how I’m always up to now good, and how I’m disgusting to loving Axel,” he says. He’s slouching as far as he can in the passenger seat. “You guys all love how screwed up I am because it makes you all so damn perfect in comparison. You don’t know how hard it is for me to be me!”

I pull up to a red light, and I can’t help it. This kid needs to learn a lesson or two. “Do you know what sucks about being Vanitas? He has to watch all of his brothers and sister get sick – be it physically or mentally, take your pick – and feels utterly helpless. Then he has a girlfriend – my baby sister – who makes him feel more helpless because he chose to love someone who he can’t do nice things for. Why? Because just as he saves up money to spend on her, or on his siblings’ upcoming birthday, he used it to keep his brother alive for just a bit longer, and to help keep a roof over all of your heads. But you… you’re ungrateful for all of it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Roxas asks. “Doesn’t mean shit, ‘cause I have–”

“Axel, who’s working at a bar to pay for _his_ own bills and _his_ own sick sister, with a minimum wage job. Because his boss can barely afford to keep his business open and has to fight for the right to keep it open every day,” I continue. “Sure, there’s Reno, but we all know who Reno works for, and how disgusted Axel feels because he can’t turn down Reno’s money unless he wants to be homeless. And just to make matters worse, everyone in town thinks that Axel is a pedophile for dating someone who is _seven years younger_ –”

“And whoop, there it is,” Roxas says bitterly. “My age is always what’s wrong.”

“Because your age can get him incarcerated for the rest of his life.” I hesitate to say what I want to say next, but I do it anyway because Roxas needs to _really_ understand. “I think I know why you act the way you do.”

“Enlighten me then, wise-ass.”

“You act out because you know that you’re not the most important thing right now. You know that the attention is on everyone else, so you go out of your way to misbehave. Then you become the center of attention. Then you can feel proud of yourself for making people forget about Sora, or Naminé, or Kairi, or anyone else who could use actual help for their problems other than ‘I need you to look at me right now’.”

I feel like an ass. I have no right saying these things, especially not to someone who hears things like that and then some from his own family and boyfriend. At the next red light, I rest my head against the steering wheel. “I’m sorry, Roxas,” I apologize. “That was way out of line.”

“You don’t say,” Roxas replies quietly.

I lean back against my seat and inhale deeply. “Want some fast-food? It’s a crap apology, but it’s a start.”

“If you want to make it up to me, you could let me stay over for a week. Axel won’t let me stay at his place until I, quote, ‘get my shit together’, and my house…” Roxas hugs his legs to his chest. Now I really feel bad.

“The thing that Tifa did… how often does that happen?” I ask.

“More than you know,” Roxas says. “Everyone thinks it’s for my own good.”

“Keeping someone trapped in a basement isn’t for anybody’s good.”

I make a left when the light turns green. “We should have clothes your size at my place,” I say. There’s an awkward pause. “How about you call Xion and ask her if she and Aerith want anything.”

“Sure.” Roxas pulls out his phone and starts dialing the number.

I can’t help but glance at him. I don’t go to his house often (on Cloud’s request, not my inability to go there), and when I do, he’s usually absent. If I had an idea of what happened in that house before…

“Aerith wants to know where exactly we’re stopping,” Roxas relays to me.

“You pick the place,” I tell him.

He deserves to not be treated horribly, no matter how bratty he is.


	7. Roxas

_In December 2011, Dr. Lucrecia Crescent, PhD, published her notes on Geostigma, a great contribution to the science community that was attacked for its taboo subject. Within it, she written the statistics of contamination: seventy percent greater chance of contagion if you’re sibling contracts the disease; twelve percent chance of adults over the age of twenty-one contacting the disease; and less than four years of life left if one’s Geostigma goes untreated, a statistic shown through the abandoned, untreated, orphaned children in Twilight Town._

_One scientist asked Dr. Crescent how long someone could live with Geostigma could live. She smiled and said she’ll tell them when the last one of them dies._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Roxas Strife_ **

**_DOB: 5/24/1997_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: Some high school education_ **

**_Employment: N/A_ **

**_Family: Father (deceased), mother (no contact), two older brothers, one triplet brother, one triplet sister, one younger brother_ **

**_Partner: Akuseru Flynn_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Positive_ **

**_If Positive, Current Status: Jenova cells, sores on left shoulder blade, physical and mental weakness, fatigue_ **

* * *

 

No one really knew about how bad my home life is until Zack asked five nights ago. Now that it’s out in the open, I feel… I don’t know how I feel. I don’t know if there’s a way I should feel about this.

Aerith played therapist the first day. She asked me questions about my brothers and sister, about Tifa, about Axel, about Axel’s friends, about my friends (or lack of, since Hayner, Pence, Olette and I don’t really hang out much anymore), about every little aspect of my life. She brought up Naminé quite a few times, and even asked me about her behaviors and tics. She clicked her pen and wrote things down now and then. She asked if I wanted to meet with Professor Hojo. I said no, and she told me she would talk to me later about our session.

Xion kept me busy with her video games these few days. Then she asked what I wanted to do for my birthday. She wants to have a sleepover for my birthday, and I’ll feel bad for rejecting her. Most likely, it’ll be held at her house.

Zack talked to – no, yelled at – Cloud over the phone. It was a long conversation, about how messed up Cloud and Tifa are for what they do to me, and how do they expect me to act when they treat me this way, and eventually Aerith told Xion and I to go upstairs and go to bed.

Now it’s the sixth day, and I wake up alone in Xion’s room to see Vanitas sitting at her desk, folder and papers in hand and solemn painting his face.

“Major depressive disorder,” he says, reading from the file and not looking me in the eye. “That’s what Hojo thinks you have, based on what Aerith told him. He won’t know fully unless you go in and meet with him personally.” He pulls out a paper from the middle of the folder and puts it on top. “Hojo believes that mental health disorder runs in the family, and that the Geostigma triggered its appearance. Naminé has been diagnosed with catatonia.”

“Since when?” I ask.

“About a week. We had Hojo come to the house, and it just so happened that she went into another one of her stupors shortly after he arrived. We’re debating about putting Nami on meds, or, if it gets any worse, ECT.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“…Because I’m the only one allowed to see you who wants to see you.” Vanitas puts his papers away in his folder and sets it down on the desk. “Ventus doesn’t want to, Sora and Naminé are in school, and Cloud and Tifa aren’t allowed over if you’re here – Zack _and_ Aerith’s rule. Plus working under Aerith is nowhere near as stressful as working under Hojo. And… you’re my little brother, and our family is so fucked up that one of us was bound to get all of the shit for it, and that sucks.”

I nod. I don’t have much to tell him. “I don’t know if I’m going back, Van,” I say quietly. I leave him to decide if it’s because of Cloud or because of me.

“I know,” Vanitas replies. “You should at least visit – for Sora, if anyone. I can help arrange them, make sure it isn’t in a toxic environment–”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” I interrupt. “Just let me have my space, and then we’ll talk about me visiting.” I turn my back to him and throw the covers back over my head. I hear Vanitas sigh and leave the room. I close my eyes and try to fall back asleep.

* * *

 

When I wake up, I’m being spooned. For a moment, I hope it’s Axel. When I look, it’s Xion. I bury my head into the pillow and put my hand over hers.

“Sorry it’s not your boyfriend,” Xion says. “You’re just so warm.”

“I am?” I ask. I roll over in her arms. Our faces are an inch apart. “Are you okay?”

“Are you? I’m not feeling any worse. It’s just that the AC is on and all my winter clothes are in the basement.”

“Ah.”

“By the way, Axel says he’s coming by in a few days. He’s been working extra hours so he can get more time off this weekend.”

“Hmm.” I roll back over to my other side. Xion buries her nose in my shoulder and latches her legs around one of mine. “Hey, Xion.”

“Hey, Roxas,” she replies.

“Why is it no one cares that you’re dating my brother, but everyone cares that I’m dating Axel?” Honestly, that has always bothered me. Yes, I get shit all the time for being with an older man, but so is Xion. And screw the age difference reason people insist on using, because only one of us is about to turn eighteen. In only two weeks, I’ll be a-okay. She’s still two and a half years away from being legal. And it’s not like she doesn’t do things with Van like Axel and I do.

“Honestly? I have no idea,” she says.

“I mean, you sleep over my house all the time. In my brother’s room, on his bed. Axel and I can’t even be in the same place without everyone freaking out and threatening to arrest him or something.”

“Well, I know that Vanitas doesn’t really hate Axel. He hates that Axel is related to Reno.” Xion sits up and crosses her legs. “And Sora doesn’t really care. Or most of our friends.”

“Right, right. So it’s just my brother who hates it?” I sit up and mirror her pose.

“Seems like it. I think Cloud just hates you.”

“I think he does too.”

“And Tifa.”

Xion reaches over and grabs my hand. “Just say the word, and I’ll make them go away,” she says.

“What? Xion, don’t murder them,” I say.

“One word, and I’ll do it.”

“What, are _you_ going to do it?”

“No. I’ll ask Larxene.”

* * *

 

“ _So when Axel says you’re moving in, are you actually staying this time? Or are you gonna leave after, like, two days because you fought over who gets the last of the juice?_ ” Kairi asks.

I roll my eyes at her. “I plan on sticking around this time,” I tell her. She smiles and rolls her eyes back at me through the computer’s camera. “I’m serious. I have nowhere else to go. Even if we do fight, he’s gonna feel like shit if he tries to kick me out. We’ll just have to work out any problems.”

“ _Yeah, good luck with that. You two suck when you fight. My bed is not open for you to sleep in._ ”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just make him sleep on the couch. Half the time, it’s his fault.”

“ _And the other half is still your fault. If I lose another night of sleep to you two, there will be revenge._ ”

I smile. She doesn’t mean it. “Enough about me. How are you doing? It’s been too long since I’ve been over.”

“ _What, you mean last Thursday?_ ” she teases. “ _You could’ve come over when you went out with Axel and Xion, but no-o, you stayed at the clock tower and left me alone._ ”

“I snuck out because Xion got Vanitas to vouch for us and I was going through family shit again. You know that.”

“ _Yeah, Axel told me. And man, oh man, have things gone downhill for everyone. Like I heard that–_ ”

“Wait a sec.” I push back from the computer and do a quick round of the house, making sure it’s empty. Zack is at work, Aerith is at the hospital, and Xion is at school. Fortunately, no one has returned yet. I return to Kairi’s pixelated face. “All clear. Go ahead.”

“ _Axel said that the other day, him and Tifa got into a huge argument about you, and it was so bad that Luxord had to make them both leave early. He doesn’t know how bad it’s going to affect him. Apparently, if either of them acts that way again, their job is on the line._ ”

I groan and bury my face in my hands. “I don’t want that to happen,” I whine.

“ _Huh? I’ve told you, stop blocking your mouth during video chats,_ ” Kairi says. I move my hands away and repeat myself. “ _Well of course you don’t, silly. None of us want that. But those two are stubborn about being the one who’s right. It’s so annoying to hear about it all the time._ ”

“Why do you hear about it all the time? Axel says he’s been hanging out at Dem’s more.”

“ _Ventus doesn’t stop complaining about you guys. Not just you, but all of you. Mostly Cloud now._ ”

I sigh and smack my own forehead. “Please, Kai, don’t let whatever they tell you get to your head. I don’t want you to get worked up again.”

“ _And they say you’re heartless._ ” There’s a knock coming from Kairi’s side and she whips her head toward the front door. “ _That should be Riku. He’s taking me to the mall to get a new game or something._ ”

“Cool. Tell him I say hey.”

“ _Will do. See you tomorrow._ ”

“Bye, Kai.” I log out of my account and lean back in my chair. Lately, Kairi’s depression has been flaring, between my family’s problems and her own. I tell her time and time again to stop us from involving her in it, but she always wants to hear so she knows that Sora and Naminé are okay. She doesn’t need the extra stress on herself. Her mind already has trouble handling it.

The front door opens and Aerith comes inside with a large brown paper bag. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” she says with a smile. I don’t understand how she’s always smiling. “Do you think you can get the other bag from the backseat? It’s not that heavy, but if you can’t, it’s fine.”

“I’ll get it,” I say. I haven’t been doing much heavy lifting in the last two weeks, so hopefully my physical strength doesn’t feel spent. It’s a small struggle to get a steady hold on the bag, but once I’m sure I won’t drop it, I carry it with ease into the kitchen and drop it on the counter. I unload it and hand off items to Aerith as she puts them away.

“Roxas, can you promise me something?” she asks as she pours cereal into larger containers.

“Um, sure?” I reply.

“I know that you have problems at home, and none of us want you to go back there, but can you try and make sure you spend more time with Sora?” My eyes widen. Aerith smile turns sad. “They didn’t tell you, did they?”

“Talking isn’t really our strong suit,” I say.

“Well, he isn’t getting any better, as you know. But these punches he’s taking are harder than before. Two days ago, Vanitas said Sora spent all night vomiting. I’m close to telling him he’s not allowed to go to school anymore. Not that he’s endangering everyone, but those with Geostigma as well shouldn’t come in close contact. He’ll need to be kept in separate rooms from the rest of you soon.” She motions for me to come closer. She puts her hands on my shoulders, knowing how much I hate hugs (from people who aren’t Kairi, Naminé, Xion, or Axel). “None of you need to put your personal problems in front of keeping Sora healthy as long as we can.”

“How long does he have?” I ask.

“That’s the big problem with this disease. None of know. It could be two months or two days. Fingers crossed, it’s two months.”

The thing I hate most about Geostigma is having to watch everyone die. First Vincent, then Rinoa, and now Sora. They were the ones I knew personally. There used to be days where the news was filled with new obituaries from John and Jane Does, mostly abandoned children. Soon Sora will be in the paper, and half of the readers will feel an ounce of sympathy before moving on – if they feel any sympathy at all. To them, he’ll be just another sick kid.

I spend the rest of the day hiding in Xion’s room, texting Axel and crying, because one day it’ll be him crying over me and Kairi, and more assholes turning the page in the newspaper and not giving two shits about who we were other than another victim.


	8. Vanitas

_Many gossip magazines covered the controversial story of the pop band YuRiPa wanting to hold a concert in Twilight Town in the summer of 2012. When approached for questions, the girls’ manager, Lulu, explained that the girls felt bad that the world was isolating an innocent little town. The girls were so mad at the backlash that they did the show free of charge for the entire population of Twilight Town._

_YuRiPa member Rikku wanted to do more, but they weren’t able to without risking their careers. Instead, they secretly donated money to the Geostigma ward at the hospital._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Vanitas Strife_ **

**_DOB: 5/9/1994_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: Associates Degree in Nursing_ **

**_Employment: Assistant Nurse_ **

**_Family: Father (deceased), mother (no contact), one older brother, three younger brothers, one younger sister_ **

**_Partner: Xion Fair_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

 

I got maybe three hours of sleep last night. _Maybe_. It feels like I haven’t slept in days.

It’s Sunday today. No school for Ven or Nami. Cloud has work. Ventus is going to Terra and Aqua’s place for the day. Tifa was supposed to have work, but she says Luxord suspended her for a week. Instead, she’s going to the kids’ school to insist that they don’t kick Sora out of school. I want to stop her, but she’s constantly seconds from kicking somebody’s ass that I don’t want to be the one to set her off. She can take her rage out on the teachers and principals. The only person who is sticking around is Naminé. Riku is coming over. Aerith is coming later with Xion, who wants to stay the night and “play with Naminé” (meaning she and I will be locking ourselves in the basement).

And Sora? He’s getting much, much worse.

He started running a fever late on Friday. The cough began the middle of that night. Coughing led into chest pain. Now he feels too sick to move. Cloud and Ventus aren’t allowed in there. Naminé refuses to go in there. Tifa is running around doing her own thing. I’m the only one who is helping him out, and it’s killing my back. All I want to do is lay down with a heat pack for ten hours. But I can’t.

The first thing I do when I finally roll out of bed is brush my teeth. I don’t plan on getting cleaned up today, since I’ll be spending today elbow-deep in cleaning this house and taking care of Sora. I splash cold water in my face to help me wake up. I look at my clothes, the same ones I wore yesterday, and decide against changing them. I put on deodorant and cologne, so nobody comments on how I smell. I slip on a pair of socks and sneakers and head on upstairs for the day.

I walk over to the window and see that neither Tifa nor Cloud’s cars are in the driveway. I don’t know if Ventus left yet. I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and turn to see Naminé. She’s smiling shyly and toying with the hem of her shirt. “Riku will be here shortly,” she says.

I nod. “Cool,” I say. It’s a good sign that she’s up and moving. And I don’t remember the last time I saw her smile without looking pained. “You hungry? I can make cream of wheat for us. I’ll add all the brown sugar you want.”

She giggles. Another good sign. “Okay.”

As I’m making our breakfast, Naminé brings out all of the cleaning supplies. Her therapist says that she likes having time-consuming tasks to take her mind off everything around her, such as her painting. She’s always the one who volunteers to clear dishes off the table and vacuum the floors. The others might not think this, but she is very helpful.

“What should I take care of first?” she asks while we eat.

“The kitchen,” I answer.

“Okay.”

“Make sure you get the upstairs later. Save the bathroom for last. I’m going to try and get Sora’s cleaned up.”

“Does he need any medicine?”

“No, not yet. When Aerith gets here, she’ll write a prescription for him. Then I’ll have you and Riku go to the pharmacy to get whatever he needs.”

“What’s wrong with Sora?”

“I don’t know. Aerith says it’s probably pneumonia.”

“What’s that?”

“A lung disease. It means only some of us can go near him. You, me, Riku, Tifa, and Aerith can. No one else is allowed to.”

“Is Sora going to die?”

I set my spoon down and stare into my bowl. There was no way I could answer this without upsetting her. If I say no, I’m the biggest liar ever. If I say yes, she most likely won’t take it well. So I stand up and hold out my arms. Naminé hesitates but stands and hugs me. I wrap my arms around her and rest my head on hers.

And suddenly, we’re fifteen and twelve again, and we’re watching our brothers getting sick and passing out all around us. And we’re crying to Tifa and Axel on the phone, because we don’t know what’s happening to them. We still don’t know what’s happening to them, or to us. It’s only been five years, and we’re just as lost now as we were back then.

There’s a knock at the door. Naminé pulls away to answer it. I sigh and put some cream of wheat into another bowl for Sora. Naminé comes back into the room with Riku, who waves awkwardly.

“Who am I helping out today?” he asks.

* * *

 

Having won at rock-paper-scissors (suckers always pick scissors first), I have the duty was washing Sora, who hasn’t bathed in nearly a week. He can barely get out of bed to use the bathroom half the time. Riku has the job of sitting in the bathtub with Sora to keep him upright, and is donning an old pair of swimming trunks. Naminé is cleaning Sora’s room and changing his bedsheets while we clean him.

“Anyone else bother helping out?” Riku asks. He holds up one of Sora’s arms so I can get the underside.

“Not really,” I answer. “Aerith is coming by later to see what he’s come down with. My brothers can’t come around without risking catching what he has. Xion wants to see Sora, but she’ll stay in the basement where it’s more germ-free.”

“And Tifa? She’s in tip-top shape. Why hasn’t she helped out?”

“Because Tifa is selfish.”

“Hnng, stop it,” Sora moans. I hold my tongue before delving into the household drama that Sora manages to avoid.

“Kairi said she wants to come over, but Axel won’t let her,” Riku says. “He won’t let Roxas come by either. Says the last thing anyone needs is them getting sick too.”

“They’re younger. The likelihood is higher for them. Their immune systems aren’t that strong,” I say. “Ven is probably the only one who could come near him and be okay. He doesn’t have any sores that I know of.”

“Neither does Xion,” Riku points out.

I hesitate. He’s not lying. I should know that. “I don’t want to her to get involved in this mess,” I say.

“She already is. She’s Naminé and Roxas’ friend, your girlfriend, and Sora’s classmate. And her brother is Cloud’s best friend. She’s neck-deep in this.”

I glare at Riku. “Put the shampoo in his hair.” I start scrubbing Sora’s chest and hope that Riku will drop the conversation.

* * *

 

I sit in the living room with Naminé and Xion, waiting for Aerith to come down and give us the bad news. I’m sitting between the girls and holding their hands. Naminé’s eyes are flitting around the room, trying to keep herself from going into one of her “spells”, as Ventus calls it. Riku just left, having been asked to watch over Kairi for Axel and Reno, both of them busy at work and having no one else to call.

I hear Sora’s door shut and I immediately turn to face the stairs. Naminé and Xion do the same. Aerith walks down the stairs with her head bowed and hands clutching her bag. My heart drops. Oh, no.

“I don’t know what I can do for him,” she says quietly. I can feel Naminé’s hand stiffen in my own. Xion’s squeezes me tighter. Aerith continues, “He needs to be hospitalized. If not, he has a month at the most, maybe a smidge longer.”

I let go of the girls and cross over to stand by Aerith. In a low voice, I tell her, “You know we can’t afford that. Only three of us are working, and that barely puts food on the table and pays the bills. The hospital is out of the question for us. We’ll end up swimming in debt!”

“Then I don’t know what else to tell you,” Aerith replies. “You know that he doesn’t have much time left. If you’re not going to put him in the hospital, then I recommend that you… you just keep on doing what you do and hope for the best. The best will be getting a smidge longer than a month.” Aerith looks up at me, and I can see her eyes watering. “I’m so sorry. Please, tell your brother to call me later for more details. And I suggest you tell Roxas so he has a chance to say goodbye.” Aerith pushes past me and leaves, slamming the front door behind her.

I turn back to the girls. Xion has both hands over her mouth and is breathing so heavily that I can see her chest puff out and flatten. Naminé has mentally clocked out and has her gaze fixated on the TV. God, damn it. As far as I know, Tifa and Cloud won’t be home for another two hours, since Barrett invited them both over for dinner. Longer if they get too drunk to drive home. And Ventus wants to spend the night at Terra’s, which I approved before Aerith came by. Damn it.

I scoop Naminé into my arms, shifting her so her head rested against my shoulder. “Xion, go downstairs. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I order.

“Are you sure?” she asks.

“Yes.” Xion nods and obeys. I carry Naminé upstairs to her room. She used to share with Ventus, but now she shares with Tifa, and Ventus shares with Cloud. I lay her down on her bed and take off her shoes. I thought about throwing the duvet over her, but it’s a bit warm tonight. When she’s sound again, she can decide that for herself. I exit her room and close the door softly behind me. I pause by Sora’s door. I can hear him snoring away through the door. He’s fine.

I head into the basement and start stripping out of my clothes as I make my way to the bathroom. Xion is sitting on the bed when I get down there. She stands and follows me, kicking aside my clothes if they end up in her way.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“What do you think?” I reply. I cringe. I sound like a douche. “Sorry.”

“I don’t blame you for being angry. You haven’t been having the best month.” She steps around me and turns on the shower for me. “Mind if I join?”

“Will your brother have a heart attack?” I tease.

“He doesn’t need to know everything.” Xion giggles and starts undoing the buttons on her blouse. I smile and turn my back to her as I strip off my briefs and feel the water. Nice and warm, just as she likes it.

I hear her gasp and I turn to see what startled her. She’s staring at her own reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror, transfixed on her chest. I’m about to ask what’s wrong when she twists her body around for me to see the small sore on her right shoulder. Now I’m stuck staring at it. Holy shit.

“When did that get there?” I ask, my voice dark and raspy.

“I don’t know,” she replies.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I ask.

“It wasn’t there this morning, I swear!” She pokes at her sore.

Xion doesn’t have sores. She’s one of the few who don’t have them. She and Ventus were the lucky ones. Sores meant things were getting worse. Cloud has sores. Roxas has sores. Kairi has sores. Sora has sores. But Xion – Xion doesn’t have sores.

Xion looks back to me. “It’s just the one,” she says. “That doesn’t mean much.”

“‘Doesn’t mean much’?” I repeat. I laughed. “That means so much! That means you’re not getting any better!”

“Well, it’s not like I was getting any better before this!” Xion snaps. “Geostigma isn’t called incurable for nothing!”

“It’s because you came here. Everyone here is sick, and you’re used to being in a place that isn’t so disease-ridden.”

“Are you kidding me? You _work_ at my house. Infected people walk in and out six days a week! Me being here did nothing to advance my illness. It just means…”

“What? What does this mean, Xion?!”

She sighs and drops her head and arms in defeat. “You know what it means, Vanitas.”

I step back, then trip and fall into the shower, the curtain pushing away from me when I do. Xion rushes over and shoves the curtain aside all the way before trying to help me up. I push her hands away and try to keep her and her clothes from getting soaked by the cascading water. Somehow, that leads to her sitting on my lap and us holding each other as tight as we can.

God fucking damn it. I’m so sick of losing everyone I care about. My brothers, my friends, Xion…

Fuck.


	9. Demyx

_The first person to die from Geostigma was Vincent Valentine, a twenty-year-old aspiring physical therapist. He had the disease for only two months before it took him. It had been assumed beforehand that children would be hit harder than adults. Professor Hojo had said in an interview that maybe the disease, like chicken pox, was an ailment that had worst side effects on people over nineteen. But after such a large population of children have died, he has said he just doesn’t know anymore._

_One of Valentine’s closest friends, a girl who was sixteen when he died, was arrested for pummeling a man trying to interview her about how hard the loss has hit her._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Demyx Rivers Dincht_ **

**_DOB: 9/6/1993_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: High School Diploma_ **

**_Employment: Bartender/Busboy/Waiter/Musician_ **

**_Family: Grandfather, father, mother, one older brother_ **

**_Partner: Zexion Wise_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

 

I hum quietly as I fill out sheet paper with notes. I’ve been working on this song for the last two hours. It struck me while I brushed my teeth, and if I don’t finish it now, I’m going to lose it forever. I debate about having a block chord or breaking it up for the base clef. I try both with random treble notes before finding a combination that worked with a broken chord. I jot it down on the sheet and play it again with the prior two measures. They flow together beautifully. Yes! There’s the bridge. Now all I have to do is a shortened third verse and a coda at the end of the chorus, then add in the outro, and finally put in some lyrics! Or maybe just leave it as an instrumental! Who knows! I’m ecstatic!

In the other room, Zexion starts coughing. I shut my notebook and close the lid on the piano before running into the bedroom. Zexion is curled in on himself and coughing into his hand. Once he stops coughing, he rolls onto his other side and moans. I quickly grab him a fresh glass of water and some of his prescriptions before approaching him. He makes a face and rolls back over.

“You have classes in the morning, and if you don’t get any sleep tonight, you’ll be super grouchy in the morning,” I scold.

“Shut,” he says.

“Look, I don’t know which is which since you got new meds, so you need to help me out, man! Give me some pointers!” Zexion groans again, and I have to pull him up into a sitting position. He makes a face at me. I brush his hair out of his face and hold up the bottles. He points to one and I take out two pills. He forces himself to swallow them and drink extra water before collapsing back on the bed.

“I’ll be in bed in a sec, okay?” I say.

“Whatever,” he grumbles. I ignore his grumpiness and get myself ready for bed. Brush my teeth with the disgusting toothpaste Zexion likes. Take out my contacts and wipe the dust off my glasses. Floss out pieces of popcorn from earlier that have been bothering me all day. Empty my bladder and wash my hands. Remove anything on the floor that Zexion could accidentally trip over when trying to go into the bathroom.

Zexion groans again when I finally get into bed. I pull the blankets on top of both of us. It’s warmer tonight than usual, but Zexion was freezing like always. I hug him close to try warming him up. Tonight, he doesn’t fight me about it. Most nights, he can’t stand it.

* * *

 

The morning goes the same as always. I wake up first to remind Zexion to take his first pills of the day. I make us breakfast (waffles today. I really want waffles out of nowhere) and call my house to check in on the family. Zell answers today and talks about life in the “big city” before Mom talks to me about work at her pre-school. I hang up in time for Zexion to drag himself out of bed for breakfast. I force him to eat half a banana along with his plain waffle – they’re a great source of nutrients, according to the internet – and put up with his irritation. Then we hop into the shower (no, you nasties, not for sexy times, but because I’m afraid he’ll fall asleep in the shower _again_ ). I get dressed while he brushes his teeth and hair, then he gets dressed while I put in my contacts and style my own hair. I’m brushing my teeth when Vexen rings our doorbell. Zexion kisses my cheek – he makes a face when I try to kiss him back with my mouth full of toothpaste and drool – and heads to school for the day.

Since I don’t have work until four, I go back to my piano and continue working on my song. I replay what I already have before trying to find a way to combine the intro, chorus, and verse into an outro. I try just the beginning of the verse and decide it’s decent for now. I can do _so_ much better. I write a few others and try them out before deciding on playing four measures that are much calmer than the chorus that decrescendo from forte to mezzo-piano. There. Melody done. Now for the lyrics. And a title.

They always say to start with a story before coming up with a title. I never do as they say and always write a title. A good title can write the story itself sometimes, you know? I don’t. I don’t know any writers. Maybe it’s just a Demyx thing, right?

I spend ten minutes thinking about a title. I have nothing. Zip. Nada. My mind is blank through and through. Damn it, I can’t leave this as an instrumental! I wrote it so that lyrics could fit in perfectly! I bang my head against the top of the piano. It doesn’t give me a title, and now my head hurts.

Maybe if I write it _for_ someone, the title will come to me. Or the lyrics. Either way, I’ll have to think of something _eventually_ , right?

I could always write this for Zexion, but last time I wrote him a song, he wouldn’t talk to me for three days. I can’t risk that again. Kairi likes when I play for her. Maybe the song can be for her. But what about her? She’s been extremely moody lately, according to Axel, and I don’t want to start something. Who else…? Marluxia! I should write the song for him! He’ll be so happy it’s written for him that he won’t care too much!

I want to write each of them a song. They all could use a special song to cheer them up. Everyone’s been so down in the dumps lately. But my creative juices aren’t _that_ strong.

And then it hits me. Why write the song for just one person when I could write the song for _everyone_? The song can be for Zexion _and_ Kairi _and_ Marluxia! And Roxas too! And even Sora could use some cheering up, despite being an endless ray of sunshine! It’s a song for them.

I nearly break the point of my pencil writing the title on the top of the page: _For You_.

* * *

 

I spend a day recording the song before editing it down to a perfected track (my first single, for sure!). I burn it onto a CD and run the four blocks from my place to Luxord’s for work. Everyone I need is already in there: Axel, Roxas, Larxene, Luxord, Marluxia, Kairi, and even Riku, too! I hurry to throw on my apron and run around looking for the stereo I know Luxord has stashed somewhere.

“What the hell’s gotten into you, Dem?” Axel asks when I finally unearth the stereo. I don’t answer, but instead slam the stereo on the counter and blow off the dust. Riku scowls as he wipes the counter with his rag. I plug in the stereo on put in my CD.

“Prepare your ears,” I say before pressing the play button. I sit on a stool and watch everyone as the song plays.

I can’t pick a favorite reaction. Larxene seems impressed (score! I never impress her!). Riku stops cleaning the bar to listen closer. Luxord taps his fingernail on the counter as he listens. Kairi sways in her chair a bit. Roxas and Axel hold hands and rest their heads against each other. I almost bounce out of my seat when the song ends.

“Holy shit, Demyx,” Luxord says. “Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know! But it’s my greatest work yet!” I exclaim.

“And that just came out of thin air?” Roxas asks, waving a hand around as he talks.

“Well, I had the tune down for a bit, but the lyrics just came out of nowhere. Pretty damn awesome, right?”

Kairi jumps out of her seat and runs across the room to hug me. She buries her face into my shirt and says something I don’t understand, but guessing by her smile, she said something good. I eject my CD and put it away. The magic wears off Luxord the fastest when he hands me a mop and bucket and points at the bathroom sternly. He does it out of love, I’m sure.

* * *

 

I don’t play the CD for Zexion. I mean, we live together. It seems a bit ridiculous to just hand him a CD and wait around for him to listen to it when I could just play it live, right?

When he gets home from school that Friday, I’m already sitting at the piano, dressed in my nicest clothes and snazziest bowtie, ready to perform for him. He gives me a strange look when he walks through the door. “What’s going on?” he asks. I motion to the couch. He sighs and sits, dropping his bag with a heavy thud and waits for me to get on with it. I pretend to crack my knuckles for emphasis before playing for him.

_“I’ll never forget your lovely smile_   
_And how it always lights the room_   
_I’ll never forget that time you laughed_   
_Despite your everlasting gloom_   
_I’ll never forget the way you danced_   
_To that stupid song I really hate_   
_I’ll never forget when we came home_   
_From that very awkward first date_

_“Then late at night, I’ll lay in bed_   
_And think about the memories we had_   
_They’ll feel just like yesterday_   
_They’ll feel like you never went away_

_“Please don’t lose your wit and charm_   
_When they aren’t there for you_   
_Please don’t lose the will to fight_   
_When they’ve already bested you_   
_Please don’t lose you charity_   
_When there’s no reason to give_   
_Please don’t lose any of your hope_   
_When you’re the one who gets to live_

_“In your dreams, and in your head,_   
_They live on, there’s no more dread_   
_There is no worry that they’re gone_   
_They never really moved along_

_“Don’t let them go while they’re here_   
_It might be the last year_   
_Don’t let them go_

_“I promise I will move on_   
_I won’t let myself be alone_   
_I promise you’ll be heard_   
_I won’t let you be unknown_

_“I think I know what I’ll miss_   
_That special way we kissed_   
_That special way I was loved_   
_The person I’ll struggle to let go of…”_

I finish playing the last chords and glance up at Zexion. He’s gaping at me with wide eyes (or eye – I can’t see the one hidden by his hair). I can’t tell if it’s a good reaction.

“So… what’d you think?” I ask.

Zexion motions for me to come closer. Oh, boy. He hates it. I just know he hates it. It’s the worst song in the world to him. I probably offended him with it. I shut the piano and walk over to him. Now that I’m closer, I can see that he’s crying. I quickly sit next to him and try to wipe the tears away. He shakes his head and pulls me in for a kiss.

Something tells me he _really_ likes my song.


	10. Terra

_The first Halloween after the outbreak was filled with intolerance toward the sick. Several front yards were filled with signs damning Geostigma victims and threatening to call local authorities if they dared to step on their lawns. Two costume stores even refused to let in infected children to pick out their costumes. Houses with known Geostigma victims were vandalized in the middle of the night between October 30 th and October 31st, as a warning to uninfected trick-or-treaters to avoid those homes._

_The police claimed to not know about this, but they were mobbed by people demanding to arrest those involved in any hate crimes toward them._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Terra Hartman_ **

**_DOB: 6/6/1992_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: Current College Student_ **

**_Employment: Cook_ **

**_Family: Father, mother_ **

**_Partner: N/A_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

 

Wake up. Eat whatever is edible in the fridge. Wash. Brush. Bike to school. Pay half-attention in school. Bike home. Nap. Bike to bar. Work – a new edition in my routine, but one that has the added benefit of a steady income. Bike home. Shower. Pick at something in cabinets that looks half-appetizing. Stare at bills with Aqua. Sleep. Repeat.

Yeah, life is shit. There’s no nice way of saying it. Bills keep on getting higher, for the apartment and school. Aqua’s student loans are still being paid off. Despite us both having paying jobs now (I owe Aqua so much for her helping me land this), we barely have enough money left over for groceries, clothes, toiletries, et cetera. We’re both dancing around the idea of taking on second jobs, but we also enjoy our sanity, and neither of us have the time for it.

This morning is a blissful Saturday, meaning we get to sleep in. Aqua, like always, wakes up first. When I roll over in bed, she’s sitting on her half of the mattress with a book on her lap. Ever since we agreed to get rid of cable, she’s taken up reading again. I’m slowly getting back into books that aren’t school-related.

“What time do we need to go in today?” I ask.

“Four-thirty,” she answers. I lean over and check the time off her laptop. It’s not even eleven yet. I roll over and try to fall asleep again.

“Ventus says he wants to spend the night for his birthday tonight,” Aqua says.

“Oh yeah? Then he better bring a sleeping bag.” Other cutbacks we made recently included selling furniture – the couch, our bedframes, and my mattress were some of those. Now Aqua and I share her mattress. At least we still have a kitchen table and four chairs, if you overlook the fact that they’re lawn furniture from a hardware store.

“He’s going to. He’s also bringing some DVDs. He wants us to get the snacks – our gift to him is food. He says Cloud has been forcing them to all eat healthier and that it’s making him crave junk,” Aqua continues. “And before you ask, yes, we have enough saved for it. I’ve been saving some money from my odd jobs for this.”

“Aren’t you such a great friend,” I say. I close my eyes. And fortunately still drowsy enough to fall back asleep.

I wake up again after one, and Aqua has since moved to the kitchen, where she’s making lunch and towel-drying her hair. I push myself into a sitting position and stretch my arms. I get a whiff of my body odor and decide I can use a shower too. I grab one of the towels and the first set of clothes I lay eyes on before trudging into the bathroom, moving the bedsheet over the doorway (we bought the place without the door and just decided it wasn’t necessary). Once I’m washed and clean, I head into the kitchen. Looks like Aqua already went out to get the food for tonight, and some groceries too. Perfect. I eye the newspaper on the counter and open it to the ads section. Aqua notices and sighs.

“Anything look good?” she asks.

“Mostly fast-food workers and teenagers for summer jobs,” I answer.

Aqua sighs again, this time with more annoyance. “Nothing that’ll pay well, but nothing that we’re exactly above,” she says.

“And all places that would reject us the second they saw Luxord’s name on our applications,” I add. Luxord had grown infamous in the city. Most people known to be affiliated with him or work for him are greeted with the same amount of disdain as he is. And he’s not hard to recognize, especially with his accent.

“At the least, a teaching job will open up, and both of us have enough credits to do part-time jobs,” Aqua says.

“Yeah, except Twilight Town only hires ignorant people. And it costs five bucks to get in and out of the city. That adds up fast. Plus, neither of us own cars.”

“Okay, Negative Nellie. I get it. But you don’t need to shoot down every suggestion.”

“I’m not trying to be negative. I’m just being honest.” The truth really does hurt. No one wants to hire people who are in contact with the sick, not in this town. The only place that will hire us without caring about our backgrounds is ShinRa, but we would rather die than sell our souls to those bastards. We won’t sink that low.

“Maybe we could take in a third tenant,” I suggest.

“We don’t have room. You and I barely fit in the one bedroom,” Aqua says.

“Well, shit. Maybe we move in with someone else?”

Aqua pauses. “Maybe Yuffie. But she lives too far from the school.”

“I could always drop out.”

“Don’t do that. You only need twelve more credits after this semester to graduate.”

“Prostitution?”

“We both agreed that we’ll only do that when we’re on the verge of being evicted, and even then we’ll find a third, fourth, and fifth opinion on trying it.”

I groan and throw my head back. Nothing like being stuck in a loophole of everything working against you. “And how much did the landlord raise our rent?”

Aqua picks up the bill and lets out a whine. “Fifty. And we have two weeks to pay him. I’m not sure we’ll be able to do that unless we cut back on food,” she says. She crumbles the bill and throws it on the floor. Damn it. One would think that with the lack of appeal that Geostigma gives our town that mortgage would go down to attract new homeowners. But our mayor is a class-A piece of shit.

Aqua and I give each other a knowing look. We avoid talking about our last option repeatedly. We both know that it’s the best option for both of us, and neither of us want to do it. It’s the very _very_ last resort.

We don’t talk about it the rest of the day. We get ready for work and head over on our bikes. I grill and fry and heat up food for whoever wants a burger and fries to go with their beer. I scrub all the surfaces, because no matter how many times I do, it still feels like they’re always dirty. Demyx and Larxene are working tonight, and when they aren’t busy, they come back and chat. Demyx says his music career has finally started taking off – “For real this time,” he says – and will be going places. Larxene was actually able to evade her arrest this night. Tifa swings by to pick up her check and drop off Ventus for us. I make Ven his favorite and tease him a bit before making an order for a party of five. Around nine, when Luxord decides to take over, I wash up and sit by Ventus. He has his bag on one of the chairs, and is hunched over his homework.

“That bad?” I ask.

“I have to do an essay because I disturbed the class,” he says. Obvious lie.

“Uh huh. And since Cloud and Tifa aren’t here, how about you tell me the real reason?”

Ventus puts down the pencil and sighs. “Kairi threw up in class. The teacher wasn’t allowed to punish her because of Reno’s ties with ShinRa, so she punished me for leaving class to escort her to the nurse’s office and not coming back for an hour.”

“Can she do that?”

“If I left Kairi with the nurse alone, something bad might’ve happen. I waited until Axel got her. And I missed our writing lecture.”

I’m not surprised. Not in the slightest. That’s how it always is for kids like Ven and Kairi. And they don’t fire the teachers because the principals and administrators don’t give two shits about how the sick kids feel, the assholes.

I check my watch. Aqua doesn’t get done for another hour, and she’s going to be exhausted. “Hey, you wanna grab some stuff for later while we wait?” I ask Ven.

He looks up from his essay. “You sure?”

“Your essay is a load of shit anyway. C’mon, short stack.”

I stroll behind Ven as he goes from aisle to aisle in the market, loading his cart with all the junk shit that Cloud doesn’t let him eat. Once in a while, I throw in something that Aqua and I need for the house, like hand soap. When the cashier rings up the thirty dollars’ worth of shit, I sigh as I hand over my bank card. I carry the bags over to my bike and set it up for the ride home. Ven gets ready to ride on the back of my bike. Aqua comes out ten minutes later, looking as exhausted as I expect, and we all head back to the apartment.

Ventus goes into Aqua’s closet right away and searches through the boardgames on the floor until he finds the Clue box. I wash my face to the distant sound of stovetop popcorn being made. When I switch with Aqua and start clearing off the table, Ven asks, “Did your rent go up again?”

I move the bills from his line of vision and nod stiffly. “That’s the fun part about growing up. It costs more money,” I say half-jokingly. Ven smirks briefly before going back to popping the popcorn.

A moment of silence. Then, “Why don’t you guys just move? It’s cheaper to live anywhere else in the state than here. And you guys could come visit all the time.”

“We don’t want to move. We’re just fine in Twilight Town.”

“…Are you staying because of me?”

I look at Ven. He’s staring at the stove with a tiny pout. He reminds me of Kairi, who openly blames herself for anything that goes wrong. She’s done it several times while at the bar, and every time, Axel kneels by her and insists that she isn’t, and that he loves her so much. One of them always cries when that happens.

“No,” I say, just like Axel. “We love it here in Twilight Town. We grew up here. We go to school here. We have so many reasons not to leave. And yes, that means you, short stack.” I ruffle his hair. He gives a sad smile to the stove and goes back to frowning, like Kairi. There’s nothing I can do to turn that around.

I start setting the Clue board out on the table. Aqua comes out of the bathroom and sets out an extra chair. Ven holds the bowl of popcorn and tries to hoard it all throughout the game.

For the next few hours, we pretend that everything is normal and okay.


	11. Luxord

_Only one place, Jack of All Trades, serves people with Geostigma. It originally started out as a bar that would serve those twenty-one and older (a law passed after the outbreak to raise the drinking age to prevent more people from coming into liquor stores), but when more restaurants that were family-friendly had their own bans, owner Luxord Downes opened it for people of all ages. He has hosted many birthday parties for children and adults alike._

_His bar is the cheapest in Twilight Town. However, there is a rule that those who are intolerant will be thrown out. One of his waitresses has a book filled with names and descriptions to make sure they stay out._

* * *

 

**_Full Name: Luxord Jack Downes_ **

**_DOB: 3/6/1992_ **

**_Sex: Male_ **

**_Level of Education: High School Diploma_ **

**_Employment: Bartender/Jack of All Trade’s Owner_ **

**_Family: N/A_ **

**_Partner: N/A_ **

**_Positive/Negative: Negative_ **

* * *

 

The Rabbit Hole was the hotspot for us up until four years ago, when we tried to have a night out to celebrate Zexion’s seventeenth birthday. We all brandished IDs (and Zex a fake, thanks to whomever Axel’s source was), and thought we were in the clear until the bouncer held out his hand in front of Marluxia. He grabbed Marluxia’s ponytail and lifted it to see the sores, still new and tiny, growing on the back of his neck, then shoved him away.

“No sickos in here,” he grunted.

“Hey, asshole, what’re you doing?” Axel demanded as he walked back outside with Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene.

“How many of you got that disease?” he demanded loudly. No one answered, especially Zexion, who was subtly moved behind Larxene by Demyx. He scoffed. “Fine. Then none of ya can come it. Beat it, or you can deal with the cops.”

“We haven’t done anything!” Larxene exclaimed.

“If you haven’t done anything, explain your little friend over here!” The bounced shoved Marluxia into the nearby puddle. “Scram, sickos.”

Larxene helped Marluxia stand up, while Zexion tried to help dry him off, and Axel and Demyx were trying to think of a new place to spend the night, but I was seething. What right did this asshat have to reject us so rudely? What kind of place is allowed to practice such discriminatory laws?

“All of them,” Larxene answered hours later, from our shared bedroom at Axel’s place. “Law was passed two weeks ago. All restaurants and recreational establishments reserve the right to reject those with Geostigma on the grounds of public health, safety, and to make sure their profits don’t tank.” I growled as I kicked over the trashcan, balled up tissues and empty beer cans scattering on the floor. Larxene leaned back in her chair and shook her head at me. “What can you do about it? It’s the law. We all knew it was going to happen eventually, and now it’s eventually. We’ll find somewhere that won’t reject us sometime soon. They can’t do this forever. Too many people are infected.”

“Yeah, and the ones that aren’t are bigots who would beat one of our friends to death without hesitating,” I mumbled. It was such bullshit that people were allowed to do this and we had nothing to fight them back with. Marluxia can’t hide his sores forever, and eventually he and Zexion will be too sick to hide it from anyone. I couldn’t stand back and watch people close their doors on those two forever.

* * *

 

I thought at least the bar I was at then, Oblivion, wouldn’t be like that either. However, three days later, I watched my boss approach a couple in the corner, threatening to sic the ShinRa employees on them if they didn’t leave in the next minute _and_ pay for the martinis they’d already ordered. Their table was empty, save for two glasses of water.

I didn’t hesitate to walk over, stand between him and the table, and drop my apron at his feet. I walked out the door with that couple and declared that I was quitting (to which he yelled back, and clichéd as it has become, “You can’t quit because you’re _fired!_ ”).

They stared at me like I was insane for losing my job for them, but I knew what I was doing. In that moment, my genius idea struck me.

Months ago, my grandmother passed away. She was a successful businesswoman in Radiant Garden, who made a fortune in her lifetime, and had left three-point-five million dollars to each of her grandchildren, myself included. If I could find myself a nice building to buy and renovate into a bar, then I could open it up to people like the couple and Marluxia and Zexion. There would be a place that guaranteed not to kick out the sick, and to open its doors for them to have a nice evening out.

It wasn’t going to happen overnight, nor would it come together with a snap of my fingers, but I had a great group of friends who were always productive when promised food and any other kind of rewards who would gladly be bribed into helping. It could happen. It _will_ happen. I won’t stop until I get a place of my own for everyone, damn it.

* * *

 

For four hundred thousand, I was able to secure a building downtown that used to be a burger joint, that had a kitchen in a somewhat functional state, a bar built that needed to be stocked, an open floor to be filled with furniture and decorations, and two levels upstairs that I could live in, thus making my life a little easier in the means of getting to work from home without having to chase a bus. Plus, having a liquor license solved the problem of needing a bartender. Now I just needed my lazy friends to get to work with me.

Cloud and Tifa showed up with all the Strife kids in tow, and Zack came by on his days off to contribute too. Axel brought Kairi when she wasn’t in school, though she told me that she was begging him to let her skip school to help out. Aqua and Terra came when they weren’t busy. Demyx volunteered to fetch whatever we needed in exchange for not doing any manual labor, while Marluxia, the strongest out of the group (Axel would insist otherwise, and Larxene insisted she didn’t want to waste her energy using all of her strength), had the painstaking job of carrying the largest amount of supplies.

A month into renovations, the owner of the fusion restaurant down the street came by to meet me. “So, what’s this place for?” he asked.

I shrugged. “It’s a place for people to go to when they don’t have anywhere else to go,” I answered, hoping it was vague enough for him not to show any potential true colors that we wouldn’t agree with. He just scratched his chin and nodded.

“Well, it’s healthy to have some new blood on the block. Finally see if I have any real competition,” he said. I wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t suspicious, but as long as he stuck to his own thing, I would stick to mine and not intervene with his personal choices, even if they were bigoted.

Another week, and there were patrons at the surrounding buildings always walking by and staring through the windows, trying to figure out when we would be letting them in. I would always wave, and so would any of the younger kids that were with me for the day, and the strangers would nod and be on their merry way. I would prefer them not to be so nosy, so they wouldn’t make everyone feel they needed to be tense, but I had no control. Hopefully, we could call them regulars one day.

* * *

 

The first day was shit. Absolutely no one that I didn’t know who came out of pity. Cloud and Tifa dragged out Squall and Rinoa to be our official first patrons when they heard (it was Axel, apparently, who told Kairi, who told Sora, who told Tifa). Larxene was thrilled that they weren’t people she had to put on her “customer appreciation face” on for, and instead took the first celebratory round of shots with them. Demyx sat outside with his guitar in hopes of luring in more people.

The fusion restaurant owner popped in to see how we were doing. “Looks like you’re off to a rough start,” he noted. He clapped his hand roughly on my shoulder and smiled sympathetically. “It usually is around here, but give it a few days. Things are bound to turn around, right?”

* * *

 

“We’re fucked,” Larxene announced as she strolled into the bar. She slapped a copy of the local newspaper on the counter. “Someone figured out we accept everyone and started the smear campaign against us. The article tries to sound like they’re not opinionated, but we all know they are.” I picked up the paper and read the section about us on the bottom of the front page. They didn’t hesitate to call us out. Turns out someone recognized Marluxia, knew he was sick, and gave an “exclusive interview” that revealed us to be everything this town was against.

I balled up the paper and shoved it in the trash bin.

“Aw, but I wanted to do the crossword puzzle,” Larxene said with a pout.

“We can’t tank this, Larx. This is gonna pay the rent. My backup funds won’t last a year unless we can find a way to at least break even at this point,” I said, leaning in close. I kicked the bin on its side and sighed. I looked up to Axel, who was sitting at the corner table helping Kairi with her homework, trying to pretend they didn’t know what was happening.

Shit. I didn’t want things to turn south this fast. I just wanted a place for everyone to be themselves.

Then the bell on the door rings. We all turn our heads to see a couple – _the ones from the restaurant all those months ago when I quit_. They look around shyly. She hugs him closer, like she’s shielding him from some impending doom.

“Is this the _Jack of all Trades_? From the paper?” she asked.

Axel stood up quick. “Yes, we are. Table or booth?”

She looked around and nodded at the counter. Axel motioned for them to go on ahead. They sat on the stools closest to the door, and I didn’t blame them. I would too if I was afraid that this was some kind of prank.

I made them two martinis without asking what they wanted, hoping it was close to the ones they’d had that night, and placed them on the coasters before them. She started pulling out her wallet. I reached out and stopped her.

“But… but…” she said, confused.

“After what you went through, I think you deserve a free one. You can worry about the next one,” I explained.

Before they left, she reached across the bar and pulled me into a tight hug, and whispered, “Thank you,” in my ear.

The next time they came in, they told me that their names were Dyne and Eleanor.

* * *

 

The next day, there were people pouring in as the sun went down. The room was half-filled by eight. Axel and Demyx were running between tables. I was pouring drinks left and right. Larxene was the perfect hostess.

She took a moment when neither of us were busy to lean against me and tease, “So much for tanking.”

I snorted. “How terrible of us to actually make a living.” I took a deep breath and asked, “I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.”

Larxene looked around at the busy room and shrugged. “Who cares. Just look at who’s all here now. They’re the people who are going home and never forgetting that we’re the ones who gave them a chance.”


End file.
